Champion
by White Angel of Auralon
Summary: Harry Potter isn't normal, he is highly intelligent and strives to become the best. Upon finding out about him being a wizard he has to decide if he wants to give up all the work he put into his studies to get a scholarship for a good secondary boarding school or take his place at Hogwarts.
1. Introduction to the Wizarding World

**Hi, this is my newest story. As for all my other stories I will give a permanent disclaimer for the story: I don't own Harry Potter, that honour goes to J.K. Rowling.**

**Summary: Harry grew up abused by the Dursleys, but at one point he snaps and decides that they and their opinion of him don't matter. Stopping to hold back at school and striving to become the very best he rises to the top of his primary school. Now at nearly eleven he is confronted with a choice. should he continue his path in the muggle world or accept his place at Hogwarts? No matter which he chooses, Harry Potter won't vanish in the masses, he will stand out and become the champion he is meant to be.**

**Happy reading and please tell me what you think of the idea.**

* * *

**Uninterrupted Correspondence.**

Number four Privet Drive in Little Whinging, Surrey. A perfectly normal house in a perfectly normal neighbourhood. Living there was a perfectly normal family, a mother, a father and their just turned eleven year old son. That's what it looked like on the outside. On the inside things were very different. Because, like every local knew, there was another boy living at the house. A supposed delinquent. The boy's name was Harry Potter. The boy ran around in old, shabby clothes, his messy hair never looking proper and his green eyes always up to no good. At least in the eyes of the locals, which was supported by the horrible stories Petunia Dursley, the woman who lived at number four, always told her gossiping friends over tea.

Harry Potter was an orphan after his parents had died in a car crash, which they had caused due to drunken driving. That was what they told the neighbours. As the boy's only living relatives, they had been burdened with the child. They were seen as good people for taking in their orphaned nephew and trying to raise him to become a good member of society.

Now if somebody would risk a closer look, things were very different. Instead of a stupid troublemaker, Harry Potter was a highly intelligent and calculating child. He had to be to not be subject to too much abuse from his so called family. Early on he had noticed that strange things happened around him. When he was six, he had turned the wig of his teacher that had shouted at him blue. The things he had been accused of had been done by Dudley, but of course nobody would shout at Vernon Dursley's son. With Vernon's high position at Grunnings many of Dudley's flaws were overlooked and the easiest target next to Dudley was Harry.

When he was seven he had ended on the school roof while running away from his cousin and his gang of bullies. His aunt and uncle had punished him terribly for that, even if Harry said over and over again that he had no idea how he had got there and only had tried to jump behind a trashcan. Then a horrible looking jumper, orange with maroon baubles, had shrunk while his aunt had tried to force him into it.

And that wasn't enough. Many people seemed to know him, strange people in cloaks. He had been greeted by them; one man had even bowed to him once. Whenever these strange things happened Harry was punished. Most of the time he was locked in the cupboard under the stairs, which doubled as his bedroom, or sometimes, if Vernon was in an extremely bad mood, he would be beaten with a belt. That had stopped though when Harry was nine and in a bout of fury about an unjust punishment had somehow made Vernon unable to move. From then on, the Dursleys had been even more unpleasant, but the punishments never again got corporeal. They were afraid something more severe would happen.

Harry had analysed these incidents. They always had happened when he was angry or afraid. So there had to be an emotional trigger for his strange power. Whenever he felt very strong emotions, it happened. He had no doubt that it was his power, otherwise the Dursleys wouldn't have always shouted at him for being a freak and to not do what he did. He had researched what he could find about it in the local library, but hadn't found something that sounded like his strange power. The Dursleys knew something, but they wouldn't tell him. They hated him and he hated them. How he wished he could just leave there and live somewhere else. But with him being only ten years old, eleven in two weeks, there was no chance to do it.

He couldn't work yet to earn the money he would need to leave them. The only thing he would be able to do were chores for neighbours, but with the Dursleys always telling lies about him, nobody would let him do them. They were all stupid sheep in his mind. Adults always tended to believe other adults, never the child that had to say something else. If he did, they called him a liar. No, he couldn't trust adults. All his anonymous letters to the police had been ignored or if they came to investigate, Vernon always talked them out of the suspicion, presenting the perfectly honourable family father. He would show them. They would regret how they had treated him one day. But he needed capital to achieve this.

So Harry had investigated just what kind of jobs paid highest and gave most power in society. Thankfully the librarian didn't think him to be a delinquent. Perhaps because the library was on the other side of Little Whinging and the people there hadn't heard about the stories the Dursleys made up. All jobs he had found interesting had one thing in common, he would need extremely high grades, would have to study at university after taking his A-Levels and build up a social network to have contacts with others that would also hold high positions later in life.

That plan had been hatched when Harry was eight. From that day on he turned his school performance around, excelling in every class. He stopped playing the idiot, the Dursleys be damned. Oh, he had got punished, but they would do that anyway, it didn't matter if he did something wrong after all, but if they overdid it, the teachers would notice and a sudden drop in his performance would be suspect. So Harry rose to the top of class. As he didn't have anything to do in his free time, Dudley had made sure that nobody wanted to be his friend, they feared his retribution too much, Harry had become a steady occupant of the school's library. All books there became his passion. He would learn all he could. He would show Dudley up the only way he could, showing how much smarter he was than his stupid cousin.

Harry learned stuff that was covered in higher years. He quickly became bored with the curriculum of his age group. So he turned to other books. Books on anything he found interesting and what would be useful for him to know. Science, history, politics, languages, social science, psychology, finances, fictional novels, classic literature and sports. When he wasn't in the library he was on the athletic field of the school, training playing football. He had read that many secondary schools gave out scholarships for gifted children that excelled at sports. As he didn't have the means for going swimming, he decided to play football. It would also be good as it was the more popular sport. Soon he was discovered for the football team, despite being the youngest player with eight and a half years – his team-mates were all ten or eleven – he soon became an integral part of the team.

His school participated in matches with other primary schools and he knew it was a great chance for him to be seen by the scouts from the secondary schools. He played in the midfield on the left side. He was fast, all the running away from Dudley and his gang finally had done something good for him, and he worked on his precision with passes to the forwards. When he was nine, the other schools knew he was a dangerous player and he was guarded closely during matches, but there his cunning came in. He had only needed one game of being totally taken out of the game by guards that outnumbered him to work on tricks to get away from them. He was smaller than them due to them being older, so he needed to trick them and outspeed them.

The next game was three weeks away, three weeks where Harry trained sprints, sharp turns and controlling the ball in certain movements. The next game even three players couldn't hold him. At the end of the school year the football club had won the primary school championships of the southeast of England and Harry, thanks to his excelling at his studies was offered to be moved up one year. He thought it was great. He knew the stuff of the year he had skipped without problem and this way he would be able to get to secondary school earlier. Sadly this needed the approval of his guardians and the Dursleys flat out refused to let Harry be in a higher class than Dudley.

The teachers didn't understand their refusal, but had to deal with it. They instead just gave Harry harder material to learn to support his educational progress. The deputy headmistress even took him under her wing and taught him to speak German fluently. Her father was a German refugee. He had fled the Nazi regime in World War II to Great Britain and had married her mother, an English nurse. So she had grown up learning both languages. Harry was very happy learning the language. For his plans in the future speaking foreign languages would be a big advantage.

Now Harry was at an age where he soon would go to secondary school. He had offers from five prestigious institutes that had offered him scholarships. Many had seen him playing football and with his excellent grades, he was a much sought out boy for the schools. He knew the schools always competed for the best students and he was the best. He had read many pamphlets of schools, trying to decide where he would gain the most benefits from attending school. He had until the end of July to decide and send his application to the school he chose. The Dursleys had been forced by his deputy headmistress to not interfere with Harry's choice of school or she would make sure the authorities looked more closely into Harry's home life. Grudgingly they had agreed that they would sign for any of the schools that offered him scholarships as they wouldn't have to pay for him there.

This morning Harry was told again to get the mail. He quickly looked over the letters. There sometimes was one for him from schools or football teams. That had been a huge argument with Vernon; he refused to think of him as his uncle, when he found out that football clubs were interested in having him playing in their junior teams. In his opinion he had cheated his way into the school football team and didn't deserve any of the praise he was given. Harry didn't intend to play for one of those teams anyway. Football was a means to his goal for him. He wanted to go to a renowned school with a strong football team where he could get the best possible education to reach his goals. He saw that there was one letter for him; one that was a bit strange. Who the hell used parchment today? He put it away to read it later. He knew the shouting from Vernon was not worth it if he saw that Harry had another letter.

* * *

After breakfast Harry set out, not even bothering with Petunia demanding that he had chores to do, he knew she couldn't enforce them with them fearing to touch him after the incident with Vernon two years ago. He was clothed in his training suit, planning on jogging around the village to keep in shape after reading that strange letter. He went to the playground and sat down on one of the swings, taking out the letter. He opened it, breaking the seal with four animals in four quarters surrounding the letter H. When he started reading his eyes grew bigger.

Magic? After getting over his first shock, he now had the answer to his strange power. He was a wizard. Hm, that offered chances. Obviously the Dursleys feared magic, as they had to have known about him being magical, their behaviour made no sense otherwise after all, one or both of his parents had to have been magical as well. Probably his mother for sure. Petunia was his mother's sister. He needed more information on this. He had two weeks until he had to decide if he would attend this school, Hogwarts, or not. He also had worked really hard for his education and the chance to get a scholarship to a renowned school. Would he just give that up? Otherwise, this power offered so many chances. Wouldn't his goals be easier to reach with magic? Where could he get that kind of information? And what did they mean they awaited his owl? Did they really use owls?

He put the letter away and started his training. No matter what he decided, he still needed to keep fit. One hour later he returned to Privet Drive and went showering. In the beginning of his training Petunia had tried to refuse letting him shower so often, but after a few days of not showering and training, she couldn't take the smell and allowed him to shower after training. Once he was done, he put on his second training suit, the two training suits he had were the only clothes his size he had, put the used one into the laundry and pondered over the letter. Best would be to get somebody to inform him about the wizarding school. He wrote a response.

_Dear Professor McGonagall,_

_I was really surprised by your letter, which informed me of having been accepted to a magical school. Still, I am a bit sceptical as I have always been told magic doesn't exist by my relatives. I can somewhat believe that I have magic, there were some strange incidents in my past, but before I accept the offer, I would like more information. Please send me information on Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and magic in general so that I can make an informed decision. I have been offered several scholarships to renowned schools all over England and want to make sure this will be my best option._

_Yours sincerely _

_Harry Potter_

He was satisfied with his letter and went outside again to see if there really was an owl waiting for him. Soon he spotted a grey owl sitting in a beech tree. He walked up to it, thinking himself a bit silly, but this was not normal. Owls were normally nocturnal and slept during the day.

"Are you going to take my letter to Hogwarts?" He asked the owl, getting a nod and the owl took his letter in her beak. "Thanks." Harry said and the owl took off.

* * *

Many miles north, hidden in a secluded part of Scotland, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry was planning her schedule for the next few days. The new muggleborn students needed to be introduced to the wizarding world. There were about ten in the new year. This needed to be done the right way to make sure most of them came to Hogwarts and learned how to properly control their talents. Another owl just swooped inside, landed on the stand next to the desk and let a letter drop at her desk. Then the owl flew away again to the owlery. She took the letter that had just arrived and looked at the sender. Harry Potter. She quickly opened the letter and started reading. What she read made her frown. Why didn't Harry know about magic?

She thought back to the day he was left on the doorstep of his relatives' house. She knew she should have protested more. Harry Potter not knowing anything about magic was unthinkable. And he was pondering if he should attend Hogwarts? That should have been no question at all. She decided she needed to take care of this issue herself immediately. She stood up from her chair and walked out of her office. Once she was outside the protective wards around the school she disapparated to Little Whinging.

* * *

Harry sat in the backyard of the house, taking care of his and Petunia's plants. This was one chore Harry gladly did. He liked gardening and he grew his own vegetables for his meals here. Vernon and Dudley mocked him constantly for eating rabbit food, but he liked it. And it was something Dudley would never steal from him. Dudley detested vegetables. So Harry made sure to always have enough vegetables for him to eat. As he was mostly the one to shop, another chore he accepted to do, Dudley couldn't be bothered to do it after all and he would only buy sweets and chips when he was going once, completely forgetting what he should buy, he could get the vegetables he liked when he couldn't get them from his small vegetable patch. Mostly during winter time. He also knew which ones Petunia preferred so getting a good diet wasn't that hard.

He was just finished watering all the plants when he heard a loud crack like noise from the front of the house. He carefully went around the house and saw a woman clothed in a very old fashioned costume standing there, looking at the front door.

"May I help you?" Harry asked cautiously.

The woman looked at him and he thought he saw some sign of recognition in her eyes. But he had never seen her before. He was sure of it. Well, okay, no time he could remember. It could be he had seen her when he was a small child.

"Yes, I think so; you are Harry Potter, right?" She asked.

"Yes, I am, Madam?" He asked.

"Oh sorry, my name is Professor McGonagall. I am from Hogwarts to respond to your letter." She said.

"Ah, I see. I didn't expect for someone to come here to give me some information. I was expecting something like a pamphlet about the school and the culture in general being sent to me." Harry admitted.

Professor McGonagall looked at the boy. He looked healthy but very guarded. This shouldn't be the case. James and Lily's son shouldn't look like this. When he was a baby he was such a lovable and trusting child. What had happened to make him so guarded? She knew it had been a bad idea to let him grow up with those muggles.

"Well, we normally introduce children that grew up in the muggle world, the non-magical world that means, in person to answer upcoming questions immediately. I am the one who shows the muggleborns, children with non-magical parents, their way around when they first enter the wizarding world." She explained.

"Okay, that makes sense. I would offer you to come inside, Professor, but Petunia is there and I am pretty sure she will throw a fit if a witch would come into her house. Witch is the correct term, is it? Or are female magicals called sorceresses?" Harry asked.

"No, witch is the correct term and males are called wizards. Sorcerers and Sorceresses are a classification of how powerful a witch or wizard is." She explained wondering why he called his aunt only by her first name.

"I have an idea how to give you a better impression of the wizarding world so you can make your decision easier, Mr Potter. There is a shopping district in London; it's called Diagon Alley. We could go there now, I will explain the things you are wondering about and get you some material to read." She suggested.

"How would I pay for that? You can be sure the Dursleys will never pay for anything like that. And how would we get there, Professor?" He asked suspicious.

"Well, there is a travelling method called apparition that is taught to witches and wizards shortly before they become of age, which means seventeen years old. For younger witches and wizards there are two methods. One is travelling by floo network, a system of connected fireplaces where you state your destination and use floo powder to activate the transport. The other is the Knight Bus. It can be called to every place as long as it is on land in England or Scotland. To call it you just have to hold out your wand hand. For long distance travel, like when you wanted to go to another country, you would have to get a portkey. They are charmed objects that are set on a specific destination and when they activate they will take you there instantly.

"Regarding your question of how to pay for this, well, you inherited the Potter estate from your parents. It will be held in trust until you come of age. For your school needs there is a trust fund in your name at Gringotts, the wizarding bank." Professor McGonagall explained.

"Wait a moment, Professor McGonagall. The Potter estate? My parents were well to do? How come the Dursleys always complained then about me costing too much of their hard earned money?" Harry interrupted her.

"Of course they were. The Potters are one of the oldest wizarding families in England. And you would have to ask your account manager at Gringotts if there had been transitions to your relatives for your care." Professor McGonagall answered.

Harry contemplated the information he got so far. It seemed like his family had some influence in the wizarding society. He needed to find out more and especially how much money he exactly had at his disposal. He would also have to look into how his estate had been managed over the past ten years since his parents had died. And he wanted to know how they had died. A drunken car crash seemed more improbable than ever.

"Okay, just let me clean my hands, then I will come." Harry said.

"Allow me, Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall said and pointed at his hands.

"Scourgify." She said and the dirt disappeared.

"That's a neat trick, Professor." Harry said.

"Thank you, Mr Potter. Now, we will take the Knight Bus, as it is the method of travelling you will most likely use more often than the others as your home is not connected to the floo network." She explained.

"That place is not my home. My seat of residence perhaps, but it has never been my home." Harry declared icily.

Professor McGonagall looked at him wondering, then she raised her wand and another loud crack sounded. A purple triple-decker was stopping in front of them.

"Hello, welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency …" A young man with pimples started saying.

"Stop it, Mr Shunpike, we don't have much time." Professor McGonagall said.

"Ah, hello Pr'fessor McGonagall. Escorting another muggleborn to Diagon again?" The young man asked.

"Yes. Twice to Diagon Alley please." Professor McGonagall said.

"One galleon and five sickles Pr'fessor." He said.

Professor McGonagall handed over one gold coin and five silver coins.

'So the gold one is a galleon and the silver ones are called sickles. This means the wizarding world has its own currency and probably economy system. I need to find out as much as possible about this. The power of each society always lies where the money is.' Harry thought.

Professor McGonagall led Harry upstairs and warned him that the ride wouldn't be very pleasant. Then the bus lurched forward and Harry understood the warning. The chair he had sat down on was thrown back by the rapid acceleration.

"Professor, I have a question. You said the Potters were an old wizarding family. Why was I raised by the Dursleys? Weren't there wizarding relatives that could have taken me in?" Harry asked.

"No, sadly not. Your father James was a single child, born late into the marriage of your grandparents Charlus and Dorea Potter. Your mother Lily was a muggleborn witch, your aunt Petunia's sister. Additionally, there was … a really bad civil war going on during the time you were born. Many people died in the war. Your parents fought against the leader of the dark faction that wanted to rule over magical Britain and thought that people without magical heritage, like your mother, were not worthy to learn magic. He was very powerful and even today people fear saying his name. Things were really bad until he was defeated on Halloween 1981. He and his followers killed so many good people." She said sadly. "All relatives on your father's side that could have got guardianship over you were already dead by that time.

"Your grandparents were killed early in 1979 and your granduncle Mistius Potter also died in 1979 from an illness. So you were given to your mother's sister, thinking she would be able to tell you about everything when you got old enough. From what you told me, she never did that." Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes, that's true. Professor, I wondered. Did my parents really die in a drunken car crash?" Harry asked.

"No, who told you that horrible story? No, I know, those muggles. I knew they were the worst kind of muggles, but to tell such lies about Lily and James." Professor McGonagall exclaimed enraged. "Listen, Mr Potter. Nothing they told you about your parents will probably be true. Your parents didn't die in an accident. They were murdered. Murdered by the dark wizard I told you led the dark side in the civil war. James and Lily are heroes. Never believe anything else." She firmly stated.

Harry was shocked. He had suspected it hadn't been a car crash, but to find out they had been murdered. That was huge.

"What exactly happened?" He asked in a low voice. He needed to know.

"Ah, I had hoped to not tell you that yet, it's not a nice story, but perhaps it's best if you find out sooner rather than later." She said.

The bus came to a stop.

"This is our stop, Mr Potter. Let's postpone the story for after we did our business in Diagon Alley. There is a nice restaurant in a side alley where we can get dinner after we're done. I will tell you everything then. It's too much to squeeze into a few minutes." She said.

"Okay. That's sounds like a plan, Professor." Harry agreed.

* * *

Harry and Professor McGonagall departed the bus and Harry looked around. They seemed to be in central London, considering the traffic all around. But where exactly?

"Professor, where in London are we?" He asked.

"This is Charing Cross Road. You have to know the magical world is hidden from the muggle world. Here at Charing Cross Road is the entrance to our main shopping district, Diagon Alley. The gate is a pub, called the Leaky Cauldron, but only magical people can see it, muggles just ignore it, it's the enchantment on the entrance." Professor McGonagall explained.

Harry nodded. Now that he thought about it, he had never before heard or seen anything that would have given him any clues that magic existed. Other than his outbursts that was. He followed Professor McGonagall towards a small pub between a book store and a record shop. He saw that she had been right telling him that muggles ignored the sign for the Leaky Cauldron. She opened the door and led him inside. Harry looked around in the slightly dark room. It was obvious that this pub had been around for a long time. Still it had its own charm. There were a few patrons, drinking and talking with each other.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall. Is it that time of the year already again?" The barman asked.

"Yes, Tom. I will be here a few more times in the coming weeks before school starts again." She answered.

"Well, then, good luck for your start into the wizarding world, my boy." He said friendly, addressing Harry.

"Thank you." Harry answered politely.

Professor McGonagall led him through the pub to a small backyard.

"Now pay attention, Mr Potter. In the future you will have to remember how to open the entrance to Diagon Alley yourself." Professor McGonagall instructed him.

Harry nodded. Professor McGonagall counted a pattern on the wall with her wand and then tapped a certain stone in the wall three times with her wand. To Harry's surprise the bricks in the wall shuffled away and created a stone arch. On the other side there was a big alley, brimming with people, housing shops of every kind. Harry wished he had a few more eyes to take it all in. He followed Professor McGonagall again and looked left and right. There were shops for all kind of things. Cauldrons, an apothecary, a shop that sold owls, a book store, some clothes stores, he was sure he overlooked some others on the way. Well, he would have time to inspect everything later. In the distance he saw a big, white marble building. Seemingly they were headed there. Professor McGonagall stopped a short distance away from it.

"We are now going to Gringotts. It's the wizarding bank as I told you and is run by goblins. Never insult a goblin. They are smart, cunning and utterly resentful. Treat them with respect, but don't give an inch. Goblins are different than humans. They are a race whose culture is based on making profit, honour and strength." She explained.

Harry nodded. He would observe and collect information before he would start business transactions. They entered through the big doors on top of a set of marble stairs. Harry was interested in the poem that was engraved on top of the doors.

_Enter stranger, but take heed  
__Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
__For those who take, but do not earn,  
__Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
__If you seek beneath our floors  
__A treasure that was never yours,  
__Thief, you have been warned, beware  
__Of finding more than treasure there._

'So the goblins are going to be vicious if anybody would try to rob them. I will need more information on their culture. Probably it would be best to get more than one opinion.' Harry thought.

Professor McGonagall went to one of the tellers that was free and waited until he looked up.

"Yes?" He asked with a sneer.

"I am escorting Harry Potter to see his trust vault. Here is his key." She said and handed the goblin a small golden key.

The goblin inspected the key.

"This seems to be in order. Somebody will take you down there." He said and handed the key back to Professor McGonagall. "Griphook." He called out.

Another goblin appeared behind the teller.

"Griphook will take you down to Mr Potter's vault." The goblin said.

"Thanks." Professor McGonagall said.

* * *

She and Harry followed the goblin called Griphook to a side door, which led to a narrow stone corridor, which was lit with torches. They reached a room with little railway tracks and Griphook whistled. Immediately a small cart came hurtling down the tracks towards them. They climbed in and were off. The hurtled through a maze with incredible speed. Harry lost track of the route after a few changes of direction. He could make out some stalactites and stalagmites and once he thought he had seen fire. He pondered what kinds of protections would be there to protect the treasure the goblins kept for the wizards. Finally they stopped besides a small door in the passage wall.

"Vault six hundred and eighty seven, Potter trust vault." Griphook announced and climbed out of the cart, followed by Professor McGonagall and Harry. Griphook unlocked the door. A lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, Harry couldn't help but gasp. Inside were mounds of gold coins, columns of silver, heaps of little bronze coins.

"Griphook, I would like to know how much money is in this vault?" Harry asked.

"Wait a moment, Mr Potter." The goblin said. "Currently the balance in this vault is three thousand galleons in total, which is divided in two thousand five hundred galleons, six thousand eight hundred sickles and forty nine thousand three hundred knuts." Griphook said.

Harry quickly did the maths.

"So seventeen sickles make a galleon and twenty nine knuts make a sickle. What is the current exchange rate between galleons and Pound Sterling so I get an idea how much this is in a currency I am used to?" Harry asked.

Obviously Griphook was impressed with the quick mind of the young wizard.

"The current exchange rate is set by the Ministry of Magic at five pounds to a galleon." Griphook said.

Harry got the underlying message that the goblins were not that fond of the exchange rate. But for him that meant he had the equivalent of fifteen thousand pounds at his disposal for now. He didn't know yet what was in the main family vault.

"As this is my trust vault, which type is it? I know of three types. Type one is a fix amount of money that will have to last me until I get access to the main vault, type two is a refilling type that returns the balance of the vault back to the starting amount on a fixed date and type three would add a certain amount either monthly or yearly." Harry asked Griphook.

Professor McGonagall was very impressed. Obviously Harry knew a lot about money and finances.

"It's a type two. The maximal amount in this vault is three thousand galleons. The date of return to that amount is the thirty first of July, your birthday." Griphook answered.

"Is there a way to keep informed about my finances on a regular basis and if it is, how much would it cost?" Harry asked. He had learned to always ask for the cost of things.

Griphook gave Harry an eerie grin. This was not your normal stupid wizard. This one obviously knew something about Financial Management.

"You can sign up for a ledger that is self-updating. It's a fee of fifteen galleons a year. The other possibility are quarterly statements by owl post for one galleon a year." Griphook said.

"What are the advantages of the ledger? I assume that there is a reason for the massive difference in the fee." Harry wanted to know.

"Yes, there is a difference. It would probably be best if you made an appointment with Corpnik, the account manager for the Potter family. He will be able to answer you all the questions you have and inform you about investments and other services Gringotts offers." Griphook informed him.

"I will do that. What kinds of methods for safe transport of money are there? It would hardly do to run around with a big bag of coins. The possibilities to be robbed are too big." Harry asked.

"Yes, Gringotts offers several methods to protect your gold. There are bottomless bags that look smaller on the outside than they are on the inside. They are standardly included in the contracts for opening a vault at Gringotts. Then there is a wallet for high profile customers. You only have to state the amount and the currency you wish to have and the wallet will supply you with it. It comes at fifteen galleons a year." Griphook said.

"Do you have something like a credit card? It is a means of payment in the muggle world which will transfer the amount you have to pay directly from your account to the account of the shop you bought something." Harry explained after interpreting the look on Professor McGonagall's and Griphook's faces.

"No, we don't, but it sounds interesting. Would you be willing to explain the principle to Corpnik when you have your appointment with him? If it is a common form of payment in the muggle world, there could be a chance to make more profit for Gringotts if we offered it to muggleborns." Griphook said.

"I will do so. I can talk about a share of profits with him if the idea is profitable then as well." Harry answered.

Griphook nodded. A wizard who knew how to see profit. Very interesting. He would inform Corpnik before the appointment.

"For now I will go with the bottomless bag. I will talk with Corpnik about other methods when I have my appointment." Harry said and took one of the bags Griphook pointed out hanging on the side wall of the vault.

"Professor, how much will I need to get a basic kit to get a good overview of the magical world?" Harry asked.

"You should take out about fifteen galleons if you only want to buy the books. For anything more, like school uniforms and a wand and so on, you would need about thirty five galleons if you keep to the bare basics that are on the list you got with your acceptance letter. If you want to have some spending money and get some more things you might like I would recommend fifty galleons. Ten of them you should take in sickles and knuts." Professor McGonagall advised.

Harry nodded and scooped up some coins into the bag. He kept it to twenty five galleons. He would get the information he wanted and then decide. For now he was inclined to accept the offer to learn magic at Hogwarts.

"How will the matter of school tuition be settled?" Harry asked, remembering how much a good school normally cost.

"The school tuition will be paid from the Potter family vault for you. It is about seven hundred fifty galleons a year."

Harry nodded, calculating the equivalent in pounds. It was about the same amount the better private schools cost. Harry left the vault and Griphook closed it. They took back the cart and Griphook led them to the counter to arrange the appointment for Harry with his account manager.

"Very well, Mr Potter, Corpnik will await you on the thirty first at ten in the morning." Harry was informed.

"Thank you." He answered. "Good bye."

* * *

He and Professor McGonagall left the bank and returned to the alley. Professor McGonagall wondered how Harry had turned out like he was. He was nothing like either James or Lily. He looked a lot like his father with his mother's eyes, but his personality was completely different. So calculating. It wasn't right in her opinion that a nearly eleven year old boy was like this.

Harry's stomach grumbled.

"Oh, I forgot I didn't eat lunch yet because Petunia was in a bad mood." Harry said embarrassed.

He had planned on eating something once she would be at one of her gossip friends for tea at three.

"Wait, you don't get to eat regularly if your relatives are in a bad mood?" Professor McGonagall asked scandalized.

"I did tell you I don't get along with them and would rather move out there today if it was possible." Harry said. "Withholding meals is harmless for them and I can get around that pretty well by now. I only need to wait until Petunia is out for tea or I just eat raw vegetables from my patch in the garden. During the school year it wasn't much of a problem as my primary school had a canteen where we were given lunch. And they didn't dare to not pack me something for breakfast as that would have got the teachers to suspect something being wrong with them. They're obsessed with being normal."

"That was harmless? What in the world did they do to you that you can think that that would be harmless?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Harry contemplated telling her. Until now none of the adults had been able to do anything against the Dursleys, but perhaps magicals could. After all, the Dursleys feared magic and if he did this right, perhaps he could even get away from there.

"Can we not talk about this here in the open?" Harry asked showing resign.

"Of course, let's go to get a little snack. I can also tell you the story you wanted to hear and some things you need to be aware of then." She offered.

Harry nodded. Professor McGonagall chose a small bistro at the end of Diagon Alley. She ordered pumpkin juice for her and Harry and a fruit salad for herself. Harry decided to get a chicken steak with fries and carrots. While they waited for their orders Professor McGonagall asked Harry if she should start or if he wanted to. Harry decided he wanted to know how his parents died first.

"Okay, Mr Potter. I told you that James and Lily were part of the resistance against the dark wizard that tried to take over Great Britain. He and his followers believed in pureblood supremacy. It's based on the classifications of magical heritage. There are purebloods, those who have only magical ancestors until their great-grandparents. The ones in the next category are halfbloods. They come in different ways. They can have one magical parent and a non-magical parent, a pureblood parent and a not pureblood parent or both magical parents which are both not pureblooded. Then there are muggleborns, those with two non-magical parents. You would be classified as a halfblood. Your father was a pureblood while your mother was muggleborn.

"Now this dark wizard assembled followers around him. They were called Death Eaters. They spread terror all over the County. They killed people without remorse. All those that opposed them were in danger. One of the only remaining safe places was Hogwarts. There were rumours that the dark wizard, who is mostly called You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, as people still fear to use his name, feared Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and therefore never dared to attack.

"It were really dark times. Nobody knew whom they could trust anymore. The Ministry of Magic and Professor Dumbledore, who led a group of people that fought against You-Know-Who, tried to stop him, but he and his followers were winning the civil war. Your parents were some of his main targets as they refused to work for him. Professor Dumbledore got a warning that You-Know-Who would come after you, so they went into hiding with you. On Halloween 1981 he found your hiding place and went there. It was in Godric's Hollow, the birthplace of Godric Gryffindor, one of the four witches and wizards that founded Hogwarts centuries ago, where he went to kill you all. He somehow got through the protective wards around your home and attacked. He killed your father and mother and then he tried … he tried to kill you. I don't know why, perhaps he just wanted to end your family. The Potters had always been a light family and never supported any dark Lords.

"But here the mystery starts. When he shot the killing curse, one of three curses that are called unforgivable curses, at you, somehow the curse backfired at him. That's how you got the scar on your forehead. It's the mark of a dark curse hitting you. He vanished that evening. Nobody has seen or heard of him for ten years. Some say he is dead, but they never found a body. Some say he is biding his time, but why would he do that if he was strong enough to cause terror again? The most probable theory is that he was weakened so much that he can't do anything at the moment and waits until he can get back his strength. Nobody definitely knows, but one thing everybody in the wizarding world does know. And that is that he vanished because of you. You are very famous in the wizarding world all around the world. But especially here in Britain.

"You are known as The-Boy-Who-Lived, because nobody but you ever survived a killing curse." She said.

Harry was shocked. He didn't expect this. He was famous? He had never felt anything of that. The Dursleys definitely didn't treat him like a celebrity. This needed to be researched more intensely. Professor McGonagall let him get his head around the news she had given him for a moment.

"Professor, you said, he was called You-Know-Who, what was his real name?" Harry finally asked.

She sighed, but he needed to know that as well.

"His name was Voldemort. But most people don't like to say or even hear the name. Even after ten years the fear is rooted very deeply in the people." She answered.

"I see." Harry said.

Then their food and drinks came and they ate in silence for a while. For a boy who was obviously neglected by his family, Harry had impeccable manners she noticed. So somebody had taken the time to teach him something. When they finished, she turned to Harry, trying to ease him into telling about his home life.

"You wrote in your letter that you had offers for scholarships to several muggle schools, Mr Potter. How did you get them, if you don't mind me asking." She started.

"No, I don't mind. I got them for my skills in playing football, a popular muggle sport and my high grades. If my relatives had agreed, I would already attend secondary school. I was offered to skip a year when I was nine. But they refused and as my guardians they had to give permission for me to be advanced to a higher class. I was the top student of my year at my old primary school." He said with a hint of pride.

'He inherited his parents' intelligence then.' Professor McGonagall thought smiling.

"As football is so popular, the most popular sport in the world in fact, and I soon found out that I was good at playing it, I trained when I wasn't studying at my school's library or the town library. Those were some of the few places where my cousin wouldn't get me. He is a fat brute if you wonder. Until I had this one outburst where I paralysed Vernon for four hours one evening when he tried to beat me with his belt, Dudley regularly beat me up with his gang of bullies. After that the Dursleys were too afraid what I could also do and stopped the physical punishments. Dudley is stupid and would never voluntarily enter a library. He also hates exercise. So me training at the field behind the school, where teachers could see me from the teachers' lounge, or being in the library gave me some security."

Professor McGonagall was enraged. That horrible muggle had beaten a child with a belt? She would make sure that Harry was taken away from there immediately. This would not continue. And if Dumbledore tried to interfere he would be introduced to her fury again.

"When I finally realized that the Dursleys would never change their opinion of me, I tried for years to get them to like me, but it didn't work, I decided that they didn't matter to me. I couldn't care less what they wanted. I stopped holding back at school to not make Dudley look worse than me. I stopped doing the chores they demanded I did except a few that were okay for a child my age to do. What could they do? Punishing me? They already did that. If they overdid it, others would notice and they would be arrested for child abuse and be seen as the freaks they are. As I said, they are obsessed with normalcy. I got punished for outdoing Dudley, but nothing more than being locked up in my cupboard for a week. And as it was during the school year that only meant the early evenings till the mornings. And going without dinner for a week was nothing new to me. I made sure to eat more at the canteen though." Harry reported distantly.

Harry saw that she had taken the bait. While it was the complete truth, he would use this to his advantage. The most pressing matter at hand was the Dursleys screwing him up. Once they realized that he would get magical training, they would perhaps try something more radical. He didn't put murder beyond them if they could make it look like an accident.

"Mr Potter, I will make sure that you will be relocated. This won't continue. No child should grow up in an environment like that. By the way, what did you mean with your cupboard?" She asked.

"That's my so called bedroom. I know that they are guilty of child abuse, but none of the anonymous letters I sent to the police worked. Either Vernon talked them out of their suspicions or they didn't even investigate." He said.

Professor McGonagall pondered about the reason for that. Why wouldn't the muggle aurors even investigate a case of child abuse? That didn't sound right. Could it be that somebody had interfered? She would find out. But if what she thought was true, Poppy or a healer at St. Mungo's needed to examine the boy as soon as possible if there were lasting problems from the abuse.

"Didn't any of the muggle healers get suspicious of your injuries?" She asked disbelievingly.

"You don't really think I ever was taken to one? No, that would have been a waste of money on a freak like me." He answered.

"You aren't a freak, never say that." She protested.

"That is what I was called my whole life there. I only found out my name a day before Dudley and I were to start at school. After all, they couldn't risk me not reacting to my name, could they?" He asked sarcastically.

Professor McGonagall wanted to curse Dumbledore into next week. She had warned him that Harry's relatives were the worst sort of muggles, but he had told her it would be for the best that Harry grew up away from all the fame he would be showered with. While that argument may have been right, letting the boy be abused was not. And why did he never check up on Harry? He should have known about this. She was really relieved that she had responded to the letter like she had now. If Harry had not known the things she told him and would have been overwhelmed with all the publicity he would have got … she didn't want to think about it. And if the pureblood faction got word about how he had been treated at the hands of muggles it would fuel their anti muggle campaigns. But now she needed to find a solution. She could have Harry take a room at the Leaky Cauldron until they could find a save residence for him. But then again, the lad would be completely on his own there. And he was just eleven.

"Mr Potter, I swear I will take care that you don't have to return to the Dursleys. For now, let's get the books you wanted to get you a better base of information." She said.

Harry nodded, not yet believing that she would be able to keep her promise. Some other social workers had given him similar promises and then they just vanished. They were transferred to other towns or simply seemed to forget what he told them. Was there a magical interference? It wouldn't be that far-fetched to believe that magic could alter memories.

Professor McGonagall took Harry to the bookstore, Flourish and Blott's. There he went through all the sections and got a lot of books. He took some on magical history, especially the civil war against Voldemort, one on the government, a book about traditions and culture, _Hogwarts a History_, a general guide to potions, an overview about all subjects taught at Hogwarts, a book about all magical schools in Europe, a guide to professions in the magical world, a book about magical creatures, a guide for muggleborns into the magical world, a report on goblins, the current magical commercial register, guides to all first year subjects and what the classes entailed in summarized form and a book on the most popular sports in the wizarding world.

When he brought his purchases to the counter to pay for them, the cashier's eyes went wide. He obviously didn't get that kind of purchase very often. Harry paid for his books, thirteen galleons and ten sickles, and then got a bag courtesy of the shop to transport them more easily. The bag automatically shrunk the books for easier transport. He had to admit, he really liked the possibilities magic had. Professor McGonagall showed him around the alley, but he didn't buy anything else besides an ice cream. He first wanted to know more, then he could start buying things for school and otherwise. While Professor McGonagall said she would get him away from the Dursleys, even if she managed to do it, it would take time. Official institutions didn't work fast from his experience.

"Mr Potter if you decide to come to Hogwarts, you should get an examination by a healer. There are also vaccinations against common magical illnesses you would need to get before you attend school." She said.

"I don't mind. By the way, does the magical world have contact lenses?" He asked.

"Yes, that option exists, why?" She asked.

"Because at the moment I am wearing muggle contact lenses. Wearing glasses while playing football is not very safe, so my trainer got me contact lenses. The Dursleys raised a stink, but I ignored them. By working in the school library twice a week I earned the money I needed for them." Harry explained.

He had suggested to the trainer of the school team that he would work for his supply of contact lenses. He had then cleared with Mrs Jannison, the old librarian, that Harry would help her clean up and put books back into the bookcase twice a week and the payment he would normally get would be used to buy him the contact lenses directly. His trainer had feared that if he got the money and had to buy them himself his relatives would take the money. Harry had whole heartedly agreed.

* * *

**So that's the first chapter. The single chapters will probably be longer than in my other stories, but I will also not update as fast as with them. Till next time.**


	2. At St Mungo's

**Alright, here is the second chapter. I was really impressed with the number of reviews for the first chapter. I mean over fifty? For that reason I decided to update earlier than I had originally planned. Hope you are happy about that. Now happy reading and questions about what will happen won't be answered before the story gets to that point ;)**

* * *

**At St. Mungo's**

In the headmaster's office at Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore was at a loss. His observational instruments, the ones he had tied into the wards at Privet Drive that kept Harry Potter safe, were telling him that the wards were losing strength. Just the reason for that escaped him. What could have caused that reaction of the wards? They should keep strong as long as Harry could call that place home. While he knew from Arabella's reports that things were nowhere near perfect there, he didn't think any other option would grant Harry as much protection. If they continued to fall he would have to investigate. Perhaps he should ask Minerva if Harry had already answered his letter.

Professor McGonagall was looking at a pocket watch and saw that it was just after four. Enough time to get Harry an examination at St. Mungo's. She had Harry take her arm, informed him that she would side-along apparate him and that it could be a bit uncomfortable for a moment before she spun on the spot to transport them to the wizarding hospital. They arrived at the hospital's apparition point and walked up to the reception. The witch at the reception looked up and obviously recognized Professor McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor McGonagall, what led you to St. Mungo's?" She asked.

"I need a healer to give Mr Potter here a complete examination and the complete set of vaccinations against magical illnesses. And the common muggle ones as well as far as they could infect a wizard." She said.

The witch looked up at his forehead to look for the scar.

"Please, Miranda, I would like to keep this private. Mr Potter just today learned about the wizarding world and his history. I don't want to have him overwhelmed with the reactions yet." Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Of course, sorry, Professor." Miranda said hastily, not wanting to have to take that look again. At Hogwarts had been enough.

She looked in the lists for today's appointments of the healers.

"In twenty minutes Healer Ickings is free." She informed them.

"Thank you, we will wait then." Professor McGonagall said.

Harry decided to spend the time he needed to wait reading one of his books. He thought the smart thing to do would be starting with the school he would perhaps attend. So he searched his bag for _Hogwarts a History_ and began reading. He had a fairly high reading speed, gained over years of reading as many books as he could.

Professor McGonagall watched Harry reading. From her first impression the boy would make a good Ravenclaw but he also had some traits of Slytherin. She didn't know yet about his courage or his working attitude, but his high grades he had told her about indicated that he had put a good amount of effort into his school work. She had hoped that Lily and James' child would also be in her house, but now she wasn't so sure anymore.

* * *

Finally they were discretely informed by Miranda that Healer Ickings was now free. They followed the witch to the examination room where she left them to wait for the healer. He came a few minutes later.

"Ah, Professor McGonagall, always a pleasure to see you. And this is young Mr Potter? I have to say, my boy, you look remarkably like your father, except for your eyes, they are definitely your mother's." The healer greeted them.

Harry smiled slightly. So far the healer seemed okay. And getting proof of the Dursley's abuse would help him in the long run. And he wanted for them to pay. While he wasn't really happy that he would have to expose himself some, it was a means to his goals. And he had learned already that pride didn't bring you anything, cunning and doing what was necessary to reach your goals was much more effective. It was weighing both to a balance that brought you what you wanted.

"Hello Healer Ickings, how are you?" Harry asked politely.

"Good, good, my boy. Now I have no records of you ever being here for examinations after you being six months old. I take it you only went to the muggle healers?" Ickings asked.

"No, the only medically trained person to ever treat me was the school nurse at my primary school for injuries I got during football training or when my cousin and his gang got me." Harry reported truthfully with no emotion in his voice.

The healer frowned. This was not normal. The usual muggleborns Professor McGonagall brought to St. Mungo's in company of their parents or who came only in company of their parents to get the vaccinations for wizarding illnesses, normally were regularly checked up by muggle healers. After all there were many children's diseases that were taken care of by vaccinations in the early years of life of a child. And they way he said that also was also reason for concern.

"Okay, then I will just have to make a complete diagnosis of your medical history. That will only be a simple spell. It doesn't hurt, but it could tickle a bit. This enchanted quill will write down all illnesses and injuries you ever had in your life and give me an idea of your current health." Ickings explained.

He waved his wand over Harry who lit up in a pale orange light. The quill started writing and continued for ten minutes. The look on the healer's face got darker and darker with every minute. Finally the quill stopped writing. Healer Ickings took the parchment and started reading. When he finished, Harry saw he was suppressing absolute rage. He had seen that expression before on his trainer when he had started his football training. Mr Miller had taken charge of getting Harry's body back to normal weight and height. He had talked with the school canteen to make sure Harry ate properly and enough. After two days where Dudley tried to destroy Harry's lunch by throwing it onto the floor, only to be taken away by the teacher watching over the canteen for detention, Harry had been able to finally eat as much as he wanted and knew his body needed. Mr Miller had given him and all the other members of the football team diet plans and Harry had done his best to follow the instructions. Strange how only one of the physical education teachers had noticed him being underweight and too small.

Mr Miller had then tried to get abuse charges to stick to the Dursleys, but Harry already knew that they wouldn't work. He had told his teacher that somehow no charges ever were really investigated or if somebody came out Vernon always managed to convince them that things were a huge misunderstanding. On top the people that wanted to help him always vanished and Harry would rather have a teacher at school that could really help him, than have an attempt for charges being pressed stop before it really began and the person to help away. He rather wanted to have the small visible improvements than trying for the bigger ones that couldn't be achieved anyway. Mr Miller had after Harry had told him some stories agreed to do things Harry's way as he could remember Ms Burton being transferred after only two months and suspiciously she had gone after treating Harry for injuries Dudley had caused.

Concerning others not noticing or not wanting to notice, the large clothes from Dudley hid much. In the area of Little Whinging Vernon Dursley was an important man. Many people worked for Grunnings under him and as long as they could tell themselves that the boy was a delinquent and the Dursleys were only really strict to the boy as he needed it to behave they could ignore the blatantly obvious. Now Healer Ickings had the same expression on his face as Mr Miller first. He signalled Professor McGonagall to follow him into a neighbouring room to discuss some thing with her. Harry was sure he would tell her exactly what needed to be done. Harry would wait and hope that he really could leave the Dursleys' house.

* * *

Healer Ickings closed the door and activated a privacy charm.

"Professor McGonagall, before I tell you what the diagnosis charm told me, I would like to know what you know about Harry's home situation." He asked.

"I know he has been abused in the past. He told me today when we were having a late lunch while I took him for a first visit to Diagon Alley. He wanted to get reading material on the magical world before he decided if he accepted his place at Hogwarts. He also has offers from renowned muggle schools including scholarships. He obviously is a very gifted and physically active boy. He told me he was offered the scholarships for his talent at football, from what I know its popularity equals that of Quidditch in the wizarding world, and his high grades. He was top student of his year in primary school and should already be at secondary school if the Dursleys, his relatives on his mother's side, hadn't refused for him to be moved up a year.

"From what he told me, he was locked in a cupboard without food for periods of time as punishments and before he turned nine and paralysed his uncle in a bout of accidental magic they also punished him physically, he said his uncle beat him with a belt. That's one of the reasons I took him here. I want to get him out of there, but without backing from a healer that will be hard to do." She told him.

"I see. Well, your reports correspond with the results of the charm. That boy was subject to malnutrition until late into his eighth year of life, has had several broken bones, from what the charts say, his magic healed them out of sheer necessity, he has some scars on his back from getting hit with a flexible object, a belt falls into that category, he had two concussions, also healed by his magic, then there are the usual infects, which also his magic took care to heal, which is concerning. Normally the body is taking care of that and building up anti-bodies against that infect. Harry doesn't have many anti-bodies against common germs and viruses in the muggle world and none of the magical world. While the magical ones are normal with muggleborn and muggle raised children, they all have gone through those periods and built anti-bodies. Which means their bodies can adept to building up immunities in the magical world faster as their bodies know how to do it.

"The results indicate that his magic was trained to keep his body working no matter the circumstances. I will have to keep him here for two days to start correcting those problems with potions. I will also prescribe some salves to reduce the scarring on his back. I have to inform the Children Services Department of the Ministry as well. This will lead to an investigation of his former caregivers and probably prison time for them. But the most pressing issue is that from his scar on his forehead dark magic is still emanating. I don't know enough about curse scars, but I have seen the effects of dark magic with aurors that came in for treatment. I will include Healer Reggam, our leading expert for treatment of curses and their after-effects, in this case."

"Oh my god, there are still effects from ten years ago? I wouldn't have thought that was possible. Do you need anything I have to get for Mr Potter's stay?" She asked.

"A few changes of clothes, but I would advise you to not get them at his caregivers. Just get him some in a muggle shop, there is one only a street away, or if you prefer to buy them in the wizarding world, you can always just apparate to Diagon Alley. He will need a set of pyjamas, some undergarments and a few toiletries." Ickings informed her. "And I will make sure the press doesn't find out about him staying here."

"Thanks, I only informed him today about his history and how his parents died. I don't think he could cope with the circus the Prophet would start if this got out." She gratefully answered.

* * *

When they went back into the room, Harry had taken out his book again and was reading. When he heard the door open he looked up.

"Well, Harry, from the results of the examination you will have to stay here at St. Mungo's for at least two days. We will have to give you some potions to correct some not correct or not completely healed injuries from your past. And we will also take care of the scars on your back." Ickings said.

Harry frowned. He didn't like to think about those scars. They reminded him how weak he had been then.

"Harry, whatever happened to you, nothing of it was your fault and you definitely are not weak." Ickings said, guessing the boy's concerns.

Harry looked up and into his eyes.

"I know that it wasn't my fault. It was the Dursley's fault. I have long understood that they are the ones that are to blame. But I still don't like to think about it." Harry defiantly said.

Healer Ickings was glad to hear that, but also a bit concerned how Harry acted. If nothing was done to address his emotional scars, he could get problems later in life. He would also get a mind healer for him to talk to.

"Good. You know, often children that grew up in abusive families think they are at fault that they couldn't build up a good relationship with their caregivers. I am happy to hear you have already realized that for yourself. We will also have an expert for dark curses look at the scar on your forehead. After ten years it shouldn't show residues of dark magic anymore." Healer Ickings said.

Harry nodded. He didn't want to suffer late effects of that attack.

"What are you going to tell the Dursleys? The will be furious that I have to stay at hospital." Harry asked.

"Don't worry about them. They will be investigated for child abuse by the Ministry of Magic. The magical law patrol and the muggle police are working together in that department. From what I understood your relatives are muggles that hate or are afraid of magic." The healer asked.

"My guess is both." Harry threw in.

"Well, nonetheless, there are experts for that crime and they will take up the case. I will demand that the DMLE, that is the Department for Magical Law Enforcement, will issue a removal order for you from their house. A member of the magical patrol will get your things from there later. Until the ultimate decision in the case, which is a simple cut and close case with the medical report I have, you will be a ward of the governments. As you are muggle raised, the normal muggle government as well as the magical government are responsible for you. There will be procedures started for you to be given a new guardian as soon as possible. But with the investigation having to be done, I don't expect that to happen before the Christmas holidays at Hogwarts." Ickings told him.

Harry nodded. From what he had seen so far, starting at Hogwarts didn't sound so bad if he could find a way to continue his previous studies. But he would hold the final decision until he had read his books and perhaps talked with a few healers and nurses here at the hospital. They had to be a fountain of information. And knowledge was power.

* * *

Professor McGonagall was returning to Hogwarts after bringing a bag with some clothes and necessities and a few wizarding sweets for Harry to try to St. Mungo's. Harry had taken well enough to staying at the hospital. He was busy reading his books and asking many questions of the healers and nurses. A very curious boy indeed. When she reached her office, she saw a note from Dumbledore to meet him at her earliest convenience lying on her desk. There also were three more answering letters from muggleborns. She decided to first read the letters from the muggleborns and then go to meet Albus. She wrote down the names and planned meetings with the students and their parents. She now had six responses, seven if you included Mr Potter, who was as good as a muggleborn in his knowledge.

She went to the owlery and sent out responses, telling the families when she would meet them. She had made the experience that the parents of muggleborn students reacted a lot better to her visits if she announced the dates two days in advance. Once she was done, she set off to Albus' office, wondering what he could want. He knew she was very busy this time of the year. She told the gargoyle the password 'gummy bears' and let the stairs take her up. She entered the office, knowing full well, that Albus always knew when somebody came up.

"Ah, Minerva, thanks for coming. I wasn't aware you were making a visit to a muggleborn student today, so when I found your office empty, I left you the note." He said.

"No problem, Albus, it was a spontaneous decision after I got a response to one acceptance letter from a hopefully future first year." She answered.

"Hopefully? So the student didn't accept the place at Hogwarts yet?" Albus asked.

"No, he asked for more information to make an informed decision on the matter as he also has several offers for scholarships at renowned muggle institutes." She explained.

"That's a good policy. What is the student's name?" He asked.

"Harry Potter." She said glaring at him now.

"What? But there shouldn't even be any question if Harry attends Hogwarts. He has been placed on the list since his birth." Albus replied shocked.

"You can thank those damn muggles for that. They abused the boy, physically and emotionally, told him lies about how Lily and James died, they painted them in the worst light. Harry told me he was told by them that his parents died in a car crash they caused due to being drunk. He was called **freak** by them until the day before he started school, his bedroom was a **cupboard** until today and the physical abuse only stopped because he scared them with his accidental magic. He paralysed his uncle when he was nine for four hours when he tried to beat him with a belt again. They didn't tell him anything about magic." She said. "I **told** you they were the worst sort of muggles, but you didn't want to listen to me, who had observed them for a **whole day**. But you said they would be the best people to raise him and explain him about his parents' deaths." She accused him.

Albus looked really pale. Did he really allow for Harry to be abused for ten years?

"Are you sure Harry is not exaggerating?" He asked and immediately realised that it was the exactly wrong question to ask seeing her face.

"Yes, I **am** sure. After I took Harry to Diagon Alley to get some reading material to make his decision, so far I have the impression that he got a good first impression of the wizarding world; I took him to St. Mungo's. Healer Ickings did a thorough examination and found several old injuries. He had **several** broken bones, **two** concussions, **scars **from the belt on his back and no vaccinations against muggle diseases. Hell, the only way he healed was because of his magic taking care of those injuries because his relatives never even took him to a muggle healer. The school nurse was the only one to ever treat him. His body having to rely on his magic to heal him so often also led to him not developing as many anti-bodies to common illnesses as he should have. Until his eighth year of life he was malnourished and the worst part is **his curse scar still has a big residue of dark magic in it!"** She shouted now.

He could see that her infamous Scottish temper was coming out. He knew to tread carefully around her now.

"Where is Harry now?" He asked.

"At St. Mungo's. Healer Ickings has told me he would have to keep Harry there for two days to take care of all the problems and have a specialist on dark curses inspect the scar. Meanwhile he is filing a law case against the Dursleys for child abuse with the Ministry." She answered, still glaring at him.

He knew he couldn't say anything against this. There was no way she would accept that Harry had to return for the wards to keep up.

"I have another question. My instruments informed me that the wards that protected Harry's home through the sacrifice of Lily are rapidly falling. Did he mention anything that could lead to that?" Albus asked.

"They are falling? Since when?" She asked surprised.

"Sometime early this afternoon." He answered.

"What were the terms for the wards to work?" She wanted to know.

"As long as Harry can call the place where his mother's blood lives home, he will be safe from Voldemort and any of his followers." Dumbledore answered.

"Then I know the answer. Harry himself told me that the Dursleys' house wasn't his home, just his place of residence until he could finally get out of there. That was about early in the afternoon." She informed him.

"I see. Well, with the wards falling we would have had to relocate Harry either way. It is just too unsafe for him to live there if the bloodwards are gone. If he doesn't see the place as home anymore, there is nothing I could do to save the wards, even if we could get to an arrangement with the Dursleys." He said.

"**Didn't you listen? They abuse him! He will never have any contact with them again!" **She yelled.

"Alright, Minerva, please calm down." He said trying to appease her.

"**I will calm down as soon as you swear to never again place Harry with those monsters!"** She replied.

"Okay, okay, I swear I won't place him with them ever again." He quickly promised. "What impression did you have of Harry?"

She took a few deep breaths to calm down. This man was just enraging her with his attitude sometimes.

"He is a very intelligent boy. He told me he was top of his year at primary school. He also is very good at football. His scholarship offers come from those two facts. Obviously muggle schools compete with each other in football regularly and having the best team is a matter of school pride. Therefore young talents are scouted by teachers from the schools and the children are offered said scholarships. Only the best get them. I guess they also do it for other kinds of sports. But Harry is also very cautious and doesn't give up any information he doesn't want to be known. I think he only told me about the abuse because he thought that magicals could finally help him because his pleas for help with the muggle police didn't bring any results. I will investigate the matter. If I find out that somebody interfered with their investigations, there will be hell to pay." She promised.

Albus just hoped she wouldn't find anything. He had stopped two investigations against the Dursleys because he thought it was vital for Harry to have the protection of the blood wards. But he also didn't think the Dursleys would go as far as beating him with a belt. They wouldn't be nice to Harry, but he didn't think family could be that cruel. Obviously that had been a big mistake. He should have investigated more and probably made his point clearer towards the Dursleys.

"So we will need to find a solution for where Harry is going to live in the future. I guess for this summer he could take a room in the Leaky Cauldron and we can ask Tom to have an eye on Harry until we find a better solution." Dumbledore pondered.

"Yes, I also had the idea, but do you think that is wise? After all, he is just eleven years old. He is quite mature for his age, but nonetheless he shouldn't be on his own. Especially as he has no experience how to behave in the wizarding world. If he was recognized, people would mob him to shake his hand or something ridiculous like that. You know how crazy they are about Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived" She said.

"Hm, probably you are right, I didn't consider that. But he also can't come to Hogwarts yet. And I don't want any of the pureblood elitists to get him into their hands." He informed her.

"You have two days while he is staying at St. Mungo's. The only alternative I see is sending someone to have an eye on Harry while he is staying at the Leaky Cauldron over the day. Obviously Harry is intent on gaining as much information on the wizarding world as possible. He won't allow to be forced into coming to Hogwarts. It will have to be his decision and he has excellent alternatives in the muggle world." She said.

"Do you know which muggle schools have offered scholarships?" He asked.

"No, and even if I would, I wouldn't tell you. If you meddled in Harry's life again, he would never forgive you. I think he would be capable to attend another magical school outside of Great Britain just to spite you if you did meddle again. I didn't tell him how he was placed with the Dursleys, but I don't doubt he will find out soon. At the moment you can still plead ignorance, but you don't want to have the boy as your enemy. That much I could see from his eyes." She told him.

He nodded thoughtfully. He would have to wait if Harry decided to come to Hogwarts. Perhaps he could influence the boy positively with a good choice for a guide and guard. Perhaps Hagrid could give Harry the last necessary push in the right direction.

"I will find a good permanent placement for the boy. Meanwhile I think the Leaky Cauldron will be our best bet. I think I could send Hagrid to look after Harry. After all, Hagrid was good friends with James and Lily and Harry was quite fond of him as a baby. And he would be able to protect Harry well enough while he's exploring Diagon Alley and help him get his supplies." He suggested.

"Perhaps. But before you choose a family for Harry to stay with, make sure the boy agrees." She said. "I have more work to do. Remember my warnings Albus, don't meddle with Harry. He'll not forgive that."

With that she turned to the door and left the office.

* * *

Harry woke up in the morning, seeing a tray of food being held by a strange creature. There also were two potions on the nightstand beside his bed.

"Ah, Mr Harry Potter is awake. Goods morning. I is Tibby. I is bringing your breakfast." The creature said.

"Good morning, Tibby. If you don't mind, I don't know that much about magic and the wizarding world. What kind of race do you belong to?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, Tibby is a house elf. I is working at St. Mungo's." Tibby said.

"Okay, what are house elves like?" Harry asked.

"We's are looking after wizards and work for them. House elves are bonded to family or building. Tibby is bonded to St. Mungo's." She said happily. "House elves do work for wizards and keep their secrets."

"And what are you paid for your work?" Harry asked.

"House elves are not paid, that's not right. House elves just want to work." She answered like she was insulted to think about being paid.

"Sorry, I didn't know you would think about that being insulted. It's just that all I have ever learned is that people are paid if they do work for others. One way or another." Harry quickly said.

"Tibby understands. But for house elves having family or other bond is important. We is getting our magic from bond." She said.

"So this is a form of symbiosis. You give the family your work and for the work and keeping their secrets and you get your magic from them." Harry realized.

"Mr Harry Potter is right. Now Tibby has to go, more work to do. Healer Ickings wants Harry Potter to eat all the food." She said.

"Okay, thank you for the explanation about house elves, Tibby." Harry said.

Tibby smiled happily and popped away, leaving Harry wondering about the strange but obviously friendly little creature. Then he turned his attention to his breakfast. He saw a note to drink the pink potion before breakfast and the green one after. He took the pink potion, grimaced, drank a bit of juice and then started eating.

* * *

In Little Whinging things meanwhile were not so peaceful.

"Where is that little freak? He should have made breakfast. And to not be home before nightfall, I will show him. If he thinks I will tolerate his behaviour any longer, he is dead wrong." Vernon ranted.

Petunia nodded, but was concerned. What if something had happened? They had always kept the freak from a doctor or hospital. But what if he had been in an accident and the doctors found the boy's scars on his back? They would think that they were the ones at fault, when the freak had it coming. Just when the Dursleys had finished the opulent meal, the bell chimed. Petunia let the dishes rest in the sink and went to the door. When she opened it, there stood two policemen.

"Good morning, are you Petunia Dursley?" One of them asked.

"Yes, I am." She said.

"We are Officers Vasparion and Thornston. We are here in official function. We have been told to get all personal belongings of your nephew, Harry Potter, that are kept in this house and take them with us. Here is the official document. Your nephew had been removed from your family and been placed as a ward of the government after Doctor Ickings found significant signs of child abuse on your nephew. From his confessions to the doctor they were caused by your family." Officer Vasparion said glaring at her.

Petunia paled. That was bad. While the police wouldn't be able to prove many things, the scars on the boy's back were a damning sign of abuse.

"Please step aside, we have an order to search your house for all evidence pointing at the treatment your nephew got while you were his guardian." Officer Thornston said, holding up another document.

Petunia could do nothing but obey.

"What is going on, Petunia?" Vernon yelled from the kitchen. Then he saw the two policemen coming into the house.

Petunia returned to the kitchen and sat down.

"They told me the boy has been removed from us under the charges of child abuse and that he is a ward of the government for now. They are collecting all of his possessions that are in the house and are also searching for evidence how he was treated here. Some doctor examined the boy and initiated the process." She said.

"What? That ungrateful little freak!" Vernon thundered.

The policemen in the corridor just shook their heads. From what they had seen so far, the house didn't look like there was even a second child living here. Only the fat boy and his parents. Not a single photo of Harry Potter was there. When Thornston went upstairs, Vasparion stayed downstairs to keep an eye on the family so they wouldn't compromise evidence. He thought the fat man was capable of doing that.

Thornston came down after a few minutes.

"In none of the rooms upstairs is any sign, that the boy lives there. There are five rooms, bath, bedroom of the parents, bedroom of the son, a guestroom that definitely hasn't been lived in for months and a smaller room where masses of broken toys are stored, but that doesn't hold a bed. Or a cupboard." He reported.

Vasparion then looked at the cupboard under the stairs. The boy couldn't have meant that cupboard? They didn't want to believe that somebody would keep a child in a cupboard, but now it looked like these people did. He walked over and opened the door of the cupboard. On the floor was a small mattress. There were a few broken tin soldiers on a shelf and some too big clothes were stored in a corner. There also was a training suit for a child that matched the one they had been shown the boy had worn when Professor McGonagall showed him around London.

On a higher shelf there were cleaning supplies in bottles. He turned on the flashlight and looked for more evidence. There was a small scrap of paper pinned to a hard to see part of the cupboard. A child had written the words 'Harry's room' on them. This was unthinkable.

"Thornston, I need a camera." Vasparion demanded.

His colleague immediately handed him the camera and Vasparion started taking pictures of the inside of the cupboard. When he had everything documented, he collected the clothes and the tin soldiers. Those obviously were the boy's. He closed the door and glared at the Dursleys, who shrank back under his glare, well except for Dudley. He couldn't understand why anybody would make such a fuss over the freak.

"Mum, I want to see TV." He wailed.

"You will stay in the kitchen with your parents until we are finished." Vasparion ordered.

"WHAT? But why, it's only the freak's things you are looking for. And the only things he has are in the cupboard. Why can't I see TV?" Dudley shouted.

The two policemen were disgusted with how the boy behaved. It was more than obvious that these two were completely unsuited as parents. They would also have to check their bank statements to see if they had got a stipend for Harry Potter's care. If they did, they were also guilty of embezzlement of funds.

"Madam, we need the name and address of the doctor you took your nephew to for his vaccinations, his vaccinations documents and all other official documents regarding the boy." Thornston looked at Petunia.

She was horrified. They didn't have any of those. They hadn't wanted to spend money on the boy, so he never got those vaccinations. They hadn't thought it would ever come out.

"Ah, you see, when Petunia was on her way home from the doctor once with Dudley some thug stole her handbag where the vaccination documents of both boys were in. So, as after that time no new vaccinations were necessary we don't have any documents." Vernon tried to solve the problem. "And when we got the boy, he was just left on our doorstep at night, I have to say not very responsible, there were no official documents."

"I see. And you never thought to remedy the situation? Every municipality has copies of birth certificates and the like. It wouldn't have been hard to inform the municipality of Little Whinging of the situation and ask them to get the respective documents from the boy's former home town. And every doctor can reconstruct the last vaccinations for us, so we just need the name or in case you changed doctors over time names of the doctor that has examined the boy over the years." Vasparion said.

Vernon deflated. He hadn't thought of that. Now things would really be bad.

"I see. Where is the attic?" Vasparion asked.

"Why?" Petunia asked.

"Because we have to be sure there are no things stored you kept away from your nephew that are rightfully his." Thornston answered for his colleague.

"There are no things. We threw away the blanket he came in when it was too torn to be used anymore. Made a massive racket the boy." Vernon scoffed.

"We will decide that." Thornston said. Petunia gave in and led the policeman to the attic.

Meanwhile Vasparion informed Vernon about the limitations that were placed on him and his family.

"You are forbidden to leave the country. Any disobeying will be reason for added criminal charges. You are to fully cooperate with the police. You will be informed of a court date as soon as it is set. I would advise you to get a lawyer; you will need a good one. You have the right to keep silent, but everything you said and will say in the future will be used against you. Probably you will be asked to hand over other documents in the future; you will be informed when we need them for our investigation. You aren't to come closer than mile to your nephew's residence. Refusal will be met with repercussions." He told Vernon.

Vernon just nodded. He knew the game was over. He just hoped they wouldn't think he was a bad parent for Dudley and take his son away. Hopefully they didn't find out about the money that they had got on their account every month for the freak. With the things they found in the house and what Dudley had let slip, they would know he never used any of the money on the boy. It was all the freak's fault. Just how did he get to a doctor?

Thornston came down with a box with a few things in it in his hands.

"These obviously belonged to Harry Potter's mother when she was a child. I also collected some interesting bank statements." He informed his colleague.

"Okay, I think we are done here. Mr and Mrs Dursley. Remember the rules you have to follow. You will be contacted soon. Good day." Vasparion said and both policemen left the house.

Vernon hid his face in his hands. They had kept the statements on the attic to not risk the freak ever finding out about them. Until now they had managed to deflect all suspicions about the freak being abused, but now with a doctor having found proof there was nothing they could do.

Dudley meanwhile scampered into the living room. He turned on the TV and took a bag of chips from a cupboard. He didn't realize his comfortable life would soon change for the worse for him.

* * *

Harry lay in his bed, now reading the book about classes that were offered at Hogwarts and what they entailed. He was most interested in Charms and Runes. Transfiguration also sounded interesting. From _Hogwarts a History_ he had found out that Hogwarts was one of three leading magical schools in Europe. The other two were Beauxbatons in France and Durmstrang somewhere in northern Europe. He would have to read up on that in the book he had about European wizarding schools. He had already realized that having control over his abilities would be best for him. And he didn't want to waste such an incredible talent. He would still learn the muggle subjects. You never could have too much information and knowledge after all. The next book on his to read list was the one about professions in the wizarding world and what qualifications you needed. He hoped there would also be information how much you earned in the respective profession.

This morning he had been visited by a psychiatrist. While the man might have been called a mind healer that was what he did. He had asked Harry about his life with the Dursleys. Harry had only told him a few things. He didn't trust the man yet. Perhaps he wanted to help him, but he was not sure. Adults had too often not held their promises. Healer Nimes had told him he should take his time to get to know him. If he wanted to talk he would always listen. So for the first session Harry had mostly spoken about things he had liked in Little Whinging, meaning the libraries and playing football. So far Mr Miller and Mrs Jannison were the only adults he somewhat trusted. They had been the ones to help him against the Dursleys, especially Mr Miller.

He had been informed that Healer Reggam would come by around three to inspect his curse scar. Now it was half past one, which meant he still had one and a half hours to read.

* * *

Healer Reggam sat in front of Harry, casting spells on his scar to find out just why there still was a dark magical residue after ten years. This was like nothing he had seen before. His spells clearly showed that it was from the killing curse, but then again not. It was like something was trapped in the scar, something evil.

"I will need to see what really is in that scar of yours, Mr Potter. I have never encountered something like this before. But before I do that, I will have to get a curse breaker to assist me. Due to their work they encounter more eccentric curses and enchantments than any other wizard or witch." Healer Reggam said.

"That's okay; I just want the dark residue gone." Harry said.

He couldn't imagine that whatever was in that scar did him any favours. He just wondered why nobody had thought to get him treated for it before. If they had known that he was hit with a killing curse and survived, why didn't they get him to St. Mungo's when he was a baby? That just didn't make any sense. But without knowing who left him at the Dursleys there wouldn't be any possibility to find out. Perhaps Healer Reggam could tell him. He would only need to ask the right way.

"Healer Reggam, I wondered why this examination hasn't been done before. I mean, Healer Ickings diagnosis spell noticed the residue at once and got you to check it. Shouldn't that have been done after I survived the killing curse? I mean who wouldn't have a baby that just survived a killing curse have examined to see if everything was okay?" Harry asked intentionally keeping his voice neutral.

"That's a very good question, Mr Potter, one I will definitely ask Albus Dumbledore." He said.

"The headmaster of Hogwarts? What does he have to do with this?" Harry wanted to know, slightly alarmed.

"In the chaos of the news spreading of your defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named many forgot to think about what would happen to you and where you would grow up. Many influential families petitioned for getting guardianship over you, it was a question of prestige for those families; they hoped to get advantages riding on your fame. But Professor Dumbledore was faster. He had one of his trusted people get you from your home before any authorities even appeared on site and hid you away. He informed the Wizengamot and the Ministry that he had taken precautions that would guarantee that no Death Eater would be able to harm you in the place you were living at. Nobody but him and said trusted person knew where you lived for the last ten years. So only he could have made sure your scar was examined properly." Healer Reggam explained.

Harry frowned. So the headmaster of the school that was offering him a place had been responsible for the ten years of hell he had gone through at the Dursleys. That wasn't a very encouraging thought. Would he want to be under the influence of a man who left him with those monsters, neglected him being checked for injuries resulting from the attempt to end his life and couldn't even be bothered to check up on him for ten years? He knew he needed to learn control of his magic, but was Hogwarts the best option for him? Even if there was no other magical school in England, he needed to check up on that with the book about European magical schools, perhaps he should also get a book on American schools when he thought about it, there were many more options and with his name and fame he could probably start everywhere.

"I will call Gringotts if they would borrow us a curse breaker, theirs are the best there are. As soon as I know the answer I will tell you, Mr Potter." Healer Reggam said.

"Alright, thanks, Healer Reggam."

"You're welcome, Mr Potter." He said and left the room.

Harry immediately took out the book about the different magical schools in Europe. Other schools would have to wait until he could get back to Diagon Alley.

* * *

**And cut. I know I am evil to simply stop here, but I want to keep the chapters a reasonable length. :) Till next time.**


	3. Information Gathering

******Hi, this is the extra special Christmas update outside of my normal update schedule. I have decided to update all of my stories for which I had the next chapter (at least) ready. So you get six update over all as well as a new story! Merry Christmas.**

* * *

**Information Gathering**

The floo in Albus Dumbledore's office flashed to life and the headmaster of Hogwarts saw the head of Junius Reggam in the flames.

"Junius, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?" He asked.

"I have some questions regarding a patient of mine. Can I come through?" Healer Reggam asked.

"Sure." Dumbledore answered.

A few moments after the head was gone, the whole man stepped out of the fireplace and cleaned his robes from the ashes.

"Thanks. As I said, I am here regarding the treatment of one of our patients, Harry Potter to be precise. I need to know what exactly was done for the boy from the point he was found in the ruins of his parents' house in Godric's Hollow to his placement with the Dursley family." Reggam informed Dumbledore.

Dumbledore nodded. From what Minerva had told him about the results of the examination the healers had good reason to have to know everything. And keeping Harry's place of residence a secret wasn't important anymore, the wards were now completely gone.

"I had Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper here at Hogwarts investigate the alarms I got from the monitoring charms around the Potter residence. I only had one sign of life. So I gave Hagrid orders to bring whoever survived to me. My thought was that with a portkey I equipped him with he would be the one best suited to go in, in case it was needed forcefully, and get out with little harm done to his person. He saw the house burning in an area, and a huge part of the roof blown away and went inside to see if there were any survivors of this obvious attack. He found James lying dead in the entrance hall, his eyes open in shock from the killing curse. Then he heard a baby crying upstairs and ran there. He found Lily lying in front of the baby's cot. Harry was in the cot, crying loudly, blood on his forehead. Hagrid took Harry out of the house. Outside he was witness how Sirius Black appeared. Sirius demanded Hagrid to hand Harry over to him as he was the boy's godfather, but Hagrid refused, stating he had orders from me to bring Harry to me.

"Sirius then lent Hagrid his motorbike. I still don't understand the reason why. Hagrid told me Sirius was distraught and in tears. At that time Hagrid thought because Lily and James were dead, now it looks more likely it was because Voldemort found his match that night. Hagrid brought Harry to me using the motorbike as you know that you only use a portkey with an infant if you have no other choice. With no immediate danger visible Hagrid decided to take the longer, but healthier route for Harry. The only stop he made in the meantime was at Hogwarts to have Madam Pomfrey examine Harry. The plan was to place Harry with his aunt and uncle the following night. I was busy at the Ministry, coordinating the chaos that had started when people heard the rumours from Godric's Hollow. It was most important to at least contain the celebrations somewhat to not have the muggles find out about us. And I needed to make preparations for Harry's protection. I had informed Hagrid I would be in Surrey in the evening where Harry's aunt and uncle lived.

"Once the Dursleys were all asleep, I saw that Minerva was also present. She had watched them over the day. While she was against placing Harry with them, I was convinced that only a strong blood ward would be able to keep Harry safe from the remaining Death Eaters who would surely try everything to get revenge for their fallen master, or thinking that killing Harry would bring Voldemort back, try it for that reason. From my scans of the house in Godric's Hollow I found out that Lily did an ancient form of sacrificial magic. By sacrificing her life for her son, willingly and fully aware of it, she invoked the strongest protection for Harry, based in his very blood. Therefore I made my decision for Harry to be placed with the only living remaining relative on his mother's side, his aunt Petunia Dursley. I prepared a letter for her, explaining what had happened and just what kind of magic I had invoked to protect Harry.

"As she took the boy into her house, she sealed the contract. I really didn't expect the Dursleys to mistreat Harry like they did. I placed one of my associates, a squib by the name of Arabella Figg in the same neighbourhood to have an eye on Harry and inform me if the Dursleys actively abused Harry or if the Death Eaters found out his living place. She told me they neglected him and weren't nice to him, but I didn't know about the physical abuse. I thought keeping the boy alive in the dangerous climate we were still living in, was more important than to keep him happy. I felt even more proven right when my observations of the wards informed me of five failed attempts to bypass them within the first year after I placed Harry at his relatives." Dumbledore confessed.

Healer Reggam nodded. That sounded like one of Dumbledore's well-meant but not completely thought through plans.

"I can only give you one piece of advice. Tell the boy everything. If you don't, well, you won't like the consequences. I could see it on his face when I told him I had to speak with you why nobody had checked his curse scar properly before he was placed with the Dursleys as you were the only one capable answering that and other questions. The boy is highly intelligent and doesn't trust easily. He trusts no-one at St. Mungo's further than taking care of medical issues. He evades all questions about the things that happened at his home under the care of his relatives which go farther than what he already told us. And that is definitely only because he wants to see the Dursleys in prison." Healer Reggam said. "He is past the point where he cares too much about pride, only seeing his goals realised is making him reveal a limited amount of information. I wouldn't even wonder if he was a natural occlumens."

"Minerva told me something similar. I am currently trying to find a family to take Harry in." Dumbledore said.

"Don't try that. He will only accept a place to stay that he chose, not anybody else. He won't let himself be forced to live anywhere where he doesn't feel safe again. He will run away if you try that. And face it, he has inherited enough money to do it and he can vanish in the muggle world without any problem, getting tutors for magic. The boy is at a crossroad. You are very lucky that Minerva got to him before anything really bad happened. Her actions could be what hold him in Britain or at least the wizarding world. Give him options what is possible and let him choose what he wants. He is currently reading up on European magical schools. He will choose the one that offers him the best education. I know that he isn't sure if he should go to one of the muggle schools that offered him scholarships or attend a magical school yet. He is collecting information to weigh the advantages of both against each other.

"So even if he chooses Hogwarts, I would advise you to get the staff cleaned up. You know that you have problems with some teachers, especially Severus Snape. I know he and James Potter were bitter enemies. With his normal behaviour to all students that are not Slytherins, he has already harmed the prospective applicants for the auror and healer jobs. Get him under control. I have nothing against him being strict, but outright bullying and degrading of students by a teacher is something that shouldn't be allowed to happen at a school. And perhaps you should replace Binns as well. I heard from many patients that come in and talk about their lessons at Hogwarts that he is only good for taking naps in class. They recommended getting him to cure insomnia patients." Reggam advised.

Dumbledore pondered what Healer Reggam had said. It was important that Harry came to Hogwarts. He (Dumbledore) was the only one that knew the whole prophecy that Sybill Trelawney had made. And from his spies he knew that Voldemort wasn't dead. He had survived, even if he was more or less powerless at the moment. He needed to be there to guide the boy and that would only work if he got Harry's trust. Which would now obviously be more difficult than he ever thought. He wasn't used to letting people make their own decisions. Most people just followed his advice. But if Junius Reggam was this sure about Harry's reaction, he would need to do it that way.

* * *

Harry had just finished the information about Durmstrang and didn't think that it would be the right school for him. While it was one of the leading schools of magic in Europe they were too racist in his eyes, not letting muggleborns into the school and favouring the purebloods. Then there was the fact that Durmstrang taught the Dark Arts. He had a rational opinion in that field from what little he had managed to find out so far. You needed to know about them to defend yourself against whatever an opponent could be able to throw at you, but if you really wanted to, you could reach your goals without resorting to gruesome spells. It was the same for weapons in the muggle world. Magic was nothing but a weapon that could be used for good or for evil. And of course the grey parts that many liked to not mention, but he knew about perfectly thanks to having to live in the grey areas to survive so far.

After the magical outburst, as he now knew it had been, when he was nine, he had been able to ignore the commands of the Dursleys thanks to them being afraid. Before that he had started already to find ways to get what he wanted and needed. Nothing that could be called illegal, but using information he gathered from observation to have his classmates or older children in Little Whinging keep silent about things he didn't want the Dursleys to know had worked well for him. They for example didn't need to know that he regularly spent time in the library reading up on topics far above his class level.

He would have to start collecting information on important people in the magical world too if he wanted to get to the top here. Not that he would forget about the advantages some things the normal world offered. Seeing people writing with quills was so backwards. No, considering all those factors Durmstrang was a definite no. Next was Beauxbatons. Their course plan was very similar to the one Hogwarts offered. A main difference was that at Beauxbatons the OWLs were taken at the end of sixth year instead of fifth year. That had both advantages and disadvantages. Students had one more year to prepare for their OWLs, but it also lessened the time you could concentrate on your NEWTs. The main question was which ones would be more important for your career plans and how the material was taught. If the French OWLs included some of the material that was needed for the NEWTs it might work out better than the English model.

Beauxbatons was somewhere in Southern France and the school was an old palace that had been remodelled to become a school. A lot like Hogwarts which was in a castle. Beauxbatons also had mandatory classes in traditions and etiquette. Not necessarily a disadvantage. Being able to fit in with high society was always good. Beauxbatons also allowed all kinds of students. They didn't discriminate against those with creature heritage or muggleborns. But the school was following a really strict code of behaviour. It seemed very restricting to him.

There were also schools in other countries, but their options for classes weren't as wide spread as the ones the three leading schools offered. For Harry it wouldn't matter if he went to Hogwarts or Beauxbatons if he chose a magical school. He spoke both English and French. After his deputy headmistress had taught him German for a year, he had wanted to add another language. Being able to communicate in two countries that were part of the G7 was useful for a boy like him who wanted to get to the top. So he had asked her if she knew a way for him to also learn French. He reasoned that as a teacher she would probably know someone.

He had been right and she introduced him to an old fellow student from her university time who was teaching at a school in a neighbouring district. It only took Harry twenty minutes with the bus to get there. Mr Smith was a teacher at the secondary school of the district and offered additional courses for students that were interested in learning French. Harry was by far the youngest at nine and a half years of age, but he was one of the fastest learners there. So by now he had had a bit more than one year of French lessons and could communicate fairly well. If he chose Beauxbatons the rest would come to him quickly. Having to speak a language all the time would take care of that. The only problem was that he would like to have more time for his decision. He needed to accept any offer for his schooling by the end of July. Only twelve days remaining. And he still didn't know if any American Schools were better suited for his goals.

He didn't know if changing schools would be possible once he had started somewhere. It shouldn't be difficult, but he didn't know anything about the magical world and he didn't know who would become his guardian. He knew ultimately the decision would be made by whoever was named his guardian. Well, he wouldn't just accept any guardian. He needed somebody he felt he could trust over time. Somebody who supported his goals and shared his ideals. Shortly, somebody he could respect. He had another thought; did his parents make any plans of who should have taken care of him in case they didn't survive the war? After all, they were fighting one of the strongest and evilest wizards ever. So the thought wasn't that far-fetched. And his mother had to have known how Petunia regarded magic.

Was there a will? Perhaps he would find out more during his appointment at Gringotts.

* * *

It was the morning of the last day Harry had to stay at St. Mungo's. He had got the vaccinations for the magical diseases all children needed yesterday evening and would get another dose in six weeks by the nurse at his school. After that he would be protected. He had read up on the best paying jobs in the wizarding world and came up with four interesting sounding jobs. There were healers, with them having huge responsibilities and having to study intensively to get really good, they earned a lot in a year. Second were aurors and hit-wizards, the equivalent of high class policemen. Hit-wizards were the advanced form of aurors. Like elites that took care of special missions. They were the ones hunting down dark wizards and were kind of the army of the wizarding world. Third were cursebreakers. They were tasked with lifting curses from objects or places. Some of the best got paid really well. The last ones were masters of any kind, but especially Runes and Charms.

Some of the most expensive magical devices were based on rune engraving and charms that powered the runes. Wards that protected houses worked with rune stones as their anchors. Really competent rune masters were rare as it was a difficult subject to study and required a lot of travel in the beginning to study the runes of different cultures. Workers in several departments at the Ministry of Magic also didn't earn badly, but it was nothing outstanding. The other possibility was having your own business, but that required a good product that was not easy to get from anybody else. From what Harry had seen in Diagon Alley, there mostly were only one or two choices for shops. Obviously the demand wasn't that big, or the Ministry granted monopolies, which didn't sound good in his opinion.

He had also read up on sports. Like in the muggle world there was one sport that practically everybody loved, Quidditch. A game similar to basketball with three hoops on each side of the field, with a few additions. There were three kinds of balls. The quaffle, the normal playing ball to throw goals with, the bludgers, the balls intent on disturbing the plays of the players and the snitch, the tiny golden ball that if caught ended the match and gave the team that caught it a huge bonus. He would have to see if he had talent there. He had good aim from football training, but that was with his feet. He needed to find out if he could also play chaser, the position that was the most active in the game. He didn't see himself being keeper or beater, the only alternative to chaser he could perhaps see was seeker, but it seemed a bit boring to him to only look for a tiny ball all game and not to be in the action the other time.

In _Hogwarts a History_ he had read that there had been cases where first-years were taken into the house teams. Well, even if not, if he was good at the game, he needed to find out about his abilities in flying first, he could try out for his house team, in case he chose Hogwarts, from his second year on. The idea to go professional had its charm. Like all athletes Quidditch players earned much money if they were good. Playing for a certain period and then taking up another job was possible. From what he had read graduates from Hogwarts applied for their jobs regarding the grades they got in their OWLs and NEWTs. Apprenticeships were only given to those that were really good in a subject. There was the second option of going for a mastery on self-study though. In the end, both apprentices and self-taught students had to test for mastery at the Ministry of Magic. Though those that learned under a master were much higher respected, well, depending on which master they learned their craft under. Some masters also preferred to take part-time apprentices, which was interesting for Harry.

So he could combine either self-study or part-time apprenticeship and a professional Quidditch career if he chose so. And being famous, for his actual abilities that was, offered great possibilities. He was extremely ambitious. He wanted to be the best. After having to fake his grades to appease the Dursleys he had decided he would always reach for the top. No more accepting anything but doing his best. If somebody managed to be better than him he had to accept it, but only if he knew he couldn't have done any more than he did. That was the mentality that had made him successful at his primary school and that was how you had success in life. Of course you couldn't be seen as a nerd; that was why also playing football had been so important for him. Everybody loved the members of the sports teams and nobody would think him a boring nerd if he was good in sports. It would just make him more popular if he could be good both in sports and his classes as long as he didn't show off too much.

He knew from the description of the houses he would probably be a Slytherin. There was just one problem. After Voldemort there was a huge prejudice against members of that house. He didn't need to be thought to be a dark Lord in training. Fame was fickle, he had seen that when celebrities in the muggle world had been torn apart in the press for one misstep or the other. If he didn't want to be seen as the next dark Lord, they could after all think he only defeated Voldemort through dark magic, stupid, but obviously wizards were stuck in the late Middle Ages in their culture, which was the time where people believed that because somebody had a certain trait they were witches and wizards. Accusations, once spoken, were hard to refute and until the guilt or innocence was proven, many just believed the person was guilty.

Harry knew as soon as people found out he spoke parseltongue, the language of the snakes, he would be seen as dark. He knew since a few weeks ago that he had that ability. During the visit at the zoo where the Dursleys couldn't avoid taking him to due to Mrs Figg having broken her leg, he had found out he could understand the snakes in the reptile house. He had briefly talked with a boa until Piers came too close and Harry didn't want to raise suspicion. Salazar Slytherin had been a parselmouth, which was the reason the symbol for Slytherin house was a snake. Perhaps his family was descended from the founder; it didn't really matter to him. He would for now have to hide that talent.

His best option would probably be Ravenclaw. He knew he had the intelligence. If he only knew how the first-years were sorted into their houses. Then he could decide on how to avoid being put into Slytherin. If he wanted to be seen for his abilities and not for the event that cost him his parents and a happy childhood, he needed to not be given any negative label early in his life. But that would only come to pass if he didn't find a better option in another country for now. He had the sinking feeling that with how much fuss the magical world made about him, he wouldn't be able to easily choose a non-magical school and hire tutors. There might be people who would try and interfere. Well, perhaps he could milk that for all it was worth. If they really wanted him at Hogwarts so badly, he might be able to get some advantages from it.

* * *

Albus Dumbledore stood in front of the reception of St. Mungo's to visit Harry Potter. He had thought about what he could offer Harry for options where to live and had come up with nothing permanent. He couldn't ask the Weasleys as they already had seven children to look after. That wouldn't be fair on Molly and Arthur. Arabella was out as Harry probably wouldn't take well to her not getting him help earlier. He had considered Remus, but the Ministry would never allow a werewolf to have custody of a child, especially not Harry Potter. Most other members of the Order were too old to look after a child. If Alice and Frank wouldn't be permanent inhabitants of the long term spell damage ward, they would have been perfect. Both were aurors, therefore able to protect Harry, and Neville was only a day older than Harry. But Augusta was very overbearing and didn't seem to really value her grandson like he was. Poor boy. Having been thought to be a squib for a long time was not an easy thing to go through for a child.

He got the room number of Harry and started his walk there. He greeted many people he knew from their time at Hogwarts and some other events. Then he reached the room's door and knocked. He heard the call to come in and opened the door. On the bed with a book in his hand sat a very close image of the late James Potter. But there were certain differences. The eyes of course and a slightly different facial form.

"Good morning, I am Professor Albus Dumbledore and I have been informed about certain … well problems, while a too weak term it will be suitable for now to use, … with your living accommodations with your relatives. I first want to express my sincere apology. I didn't think that your aunt, while not on that good terms with your mother, would go as far as she did. I never thought it possible for somebody to abuse a child of their own blood. You see, in the wizarding world, family means everything. Blood is the strongest bond there can be and betraying one's own blood is the greatest shame in many people's opinion. I assumed it would be the same way in the muggle world and that nobody would intentionally hurt a child. I am really sorry for not seeing my error earlier." Dumbledore said.

Harry looked intently on the old man's face and eyes. Many people, even if they had learned to hide their thoughts, gave subtle signs on their face and especially in their eyes if they lied. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be sincere.

"I see. I accept the apology, but I want to know what reasons did you have to place me there without checking up on me once?" Harry asked cautiously.

He would see what the old man could offer. He knew that the headmaster of Hogwarts was an important man in wizarding society and making an outright enemy of him would be stupid. Better to collect information and take a wait-and-see position. He wouldn't trust him, no way after what that man had put him through in his life, no matter if intentional or unintentional. But alienating the most powerful man in the country, who also owed him, wouldn't bring him what he wanted. Albus Dumbledore held most of the really important positions in this society and therefore he could make Harry's life more difficult if he really tried.

"I guess I owe you that explanation, even if I'd have preferred that this could have waited until you were a little older. On the night your parents were murdered, your mother made the ultimate sacrifice. She willingly and knowingly offered her life for yours. I did scans on the magical residue in your house on November 1st in 1981. There were the signs of an ancient magical ritual, the sacrifice of one life for another, the sacrifice of a loving mother for her child, even if she didn't have to die, invoked an ancient protection. If a witch or wizard selflessly sacrifices his or her life out of love for others, those people will be protected against attacks from the one who spilled the blood of the one who sacrificed himself." Dumbledore started the explanation in a solemn voice.

"With this in mind, I made my plans to protect you from Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. I knew Voldemort hadn't died. Why, I don't know yet; I am still trying to find clues about that, but what I know is that he won't give up. Having been defeated by you is a smudge on his record. He'll do everything to finish what he started. At the moment I think it's safe to say that he isn't an immediate danger, but I know he is out there, somewhere. Voldemort spilled your mother's blood, so the strongest protection I could give you was through her blood. The only living relative you have on her side though that is closely enough related for the magic to work is your aunt Petunia. She knows that. I wrote her a letter explaining all that to her the night I left you at her house. By accepting you into her house she sealed the magical contract and the wards were created. While she might not love or even like you, she didn't want you dead.

"I thought that her taking you in was enough to make sure that she would at least treat you neutrally. But it seems I was horribly mistaken there. The magic made sure that as long as you could call the place where your mother's blood lived your home, Voldemort couldn't touch you there. As his followers are branded with his dark mark on their left forearms, they couldn't harm you there either if they found out where you were living. And those wards stopped five attempts to get to you from Death Eaters, Voldemort's servants, before one year of your stay there was gone. I also didn't want you to grow up having your head filled with the nonsense people came up with due to your fame." He admitted. "I thought growing up as a normal boy would be better for you. To not have to cope with the fame until you were old enough to understand what was going on."

Harry pondered what Professor Dumbledore had told him. It sounded good in theory. With him having the Death Eaters after him and perhaps even Voldemort, the wards sounded like a good idea. Especially as they seemed to have done their job. But why did nobody ever check up on him?

"I can understand that you wanted to protect me, but why didn't you ever check up on me to see if I was okay? Hell, I even sent the police anonymous letters to get them to investigate. Having Vernon out of the house would have made a huge difference. Petunia I can deal with, Vernon is the brute. Petunia only shouts or resorts to slaps." Harry asked.

"I had somebody watch you, I know you know her. Arabella Figg is a squib that was also part of the resistance group, the Order of the Phoenix, that I had founded to fight Voldemort. A squib is a person who can't use magic and is born to magical parents. The opposite to a muggleborn in fact. She had an eye on you, but besides that you were neglected and that your cousin sometimes beat you with his friends, she couldn't tell me anything more. She never noticed signs of physical abuse. Had she noticed something like that I would have come and interfered, but knowing that Petunia didn't like magic, I thought it would be easier for you if she wasn't confronted with the magical world constantly. I didn't want to risk that you lost the protection from the blood wards. Now that is not an issue anymore. The Dursleys will be put on trial. A member of the magical law enforcement patrol, Cannion Vasparion has already got your things out of the house. There also were some things that had remained from your mother on the attic. You will get those things as soon as it is decided where you will be living.

"The Dursleys will have to defend against charges on child abuse, embezzlement of funds they got for your care, and I think there are also suspicions of tax evasion." Dumbledore explained.

Harry nodded. He had suspected something like that from the moment he heard his parents had been well to do.

"I guess having a strong magical healing was a slight disadvantage then. I know from Healer Ickings that my magic healed me from the injuries they gave me. Broken bones, the concussions, the cuts, and any infects. If Mrs Figg only looked out for those she would have had problems. I normally was healed from them the next day. What remained were scars, but those were hidden by my clothes. The only exception was a broken arm when I was perhaps four. It hurt horribly for four days, I wasn't allowed to cry and when I did, Vernon only got madder. Then over the night the pain stopped and in the morning it was gone. And the rags I had to wear hid a lot." Harry sighed.

"It was both good and bad, Harry. Your magic did what was necessary to help you survive. But sadly, yes, it hid the signs others could have spotted too well for anybody not schooled to see more than obvious things to react." Dumbledore admitted.

"What options do I have for my living place?" Harry asked.

"Well, the most probable option will be that a magical family takes you in as a foster child until you come of age or get to an age where you can request being emancipated. Coming of age in the wizarding world happens on your seventeenth birthday, emancipated you could get after you passed your OWL exams." Dumbledore explained. "In the magical world there are no orphanages, so if you refuse to go to any magical family you would be placed in one of the muggle orphanages."

"I see. What about old friends of my parents? There must have been arrangement for my placement in case they didn't survive the war." Harry asked.

"They did make those arrangements. But sadly none could be used. Your primary guardian in case your parents died would have been your father's best friend and your godfather Sirius Black, but he is in prison. It was found out that he was the one who betrayed the hiding place of your parents to Voldemort and after they had died, he was cornered by another friend of your parents, Peter Pettigrew. Sirius was the better and more powerful wizard though and he killed Peter and thirteen muggles that were in the place where Peter cornered him with one blasting curse. Only a finger could be found of Peter after that. We all didn't think Sirius would ever betray your father, they were closer than brothers. But seemingly Sirius only pretended and was actually a spy for Voldemort." Dumbledore said sadly.

"How could you be so sure he was guilty? From the little I have read about curses in the history books I have, whenever the Death Eaters used them there were more remains. And only a finger being left sounds fishy to me. And if this Sirius was so close with my dad, wouldn't he have noticed if he behaved strange? What did he say during his trial? Why did he do it?" Harry asked.

"Well, the evidence was clear, so he was sent to Azkaban immediately after he was arrested." Dumbledore said.

"What kind of bullshit is that?" Harry thundered amking the doors of the wardrobe in the room rattle. "That's the most obvious cover up story I have ever heard! Under the law of the crown every subject of her majesty the Queen has a right to a fair trial. And I have found nothing that makes witches and wizards exempt from that right. While the wizarding world may have gone into hiding after the passing of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, we are still subjects of the Queen or King. King John by signing the Magna Carta granted the wizards the right of self-government as long as they still followed the British law. No king would have given up the power over a good part of his subjects. To this day the Minister of Magic keeps contact with the Prime Minister. The monarch of our country also always knows about the magical world. So for Sirius Black not even been given a trial is a clear breach of the treaty the British wizarding society signed with the Crown.

"More, how did you know he betrayed my parents?" Harry demanded to know.

Dumbledore was really shocked. He hadn't expected something like that. And sadly the boy was right. He, as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, should have made sure all supposed Death Eaters got a trial.

"Your parents were hiding using a powerful enchantment. It's called the Fidelius Charm. You hide a secret in the very soul of a person, the so-called Secret Keeper. If the Secret Keeper doesn't talk, the secret can't be found. But only a week after the charm was performed, Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. Sirius Black was the Secret Keeper for your parents. And the muggle witnesses of the fight between Peter and Sirius reported that Peter asked Sirius how he could have betrayed Lily and James."

"I believe it when I get his statement. I have heard too many lies from adults in my life to just believe anything that has so many holes in it. I mean, was anybody there when the charm was performed? Anybody besides the muggles? Where was Pettigrew's body if they found the bodies of the thirteen muggles? After all, without finding the bodies nobody could have told the exact number of victims. There should at least have been traces of blood of Pettigrew. Were they checked against Pettigrew's blood? This sounds like somebody had an interest to get Sirius Black out of the way. Or somebody who had no other interest than looking good in public opinion. Politicians often try to sway public views by doing flashy things. Any normal investigation would have made absolutely certain that a person is proven guilty without a doubt. I have read mystery books, especially Sherlock Holmes and he has one saying: If you've eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. In my opinion, having a man blasted up with one curse and only leaving a finger is impossible. I would have to test it with a dummy, but I'm pretty sure I'm right. So who says it wasn't different?" Harry said.

In the boy's eyes Dumbledore saw absolute certainty. He wouldn't let this rest. He thought he would be capable to involve the Prime Minister if necessary. He seemed to know an awful lot about muggle law and the ways it reflected in the wizarding world. It was remarkable considering that he had only found out about magic two days prior. How fast could he read and comprehend information if he was that far already?

"I'll see what I can do. At least I'll go to Azkaban and hear Sirius out." He promised.

"That's a start. Don't make any mistake. Things in my life have been so messed up that I won't hesitate to see my interests properly represented. I'm used to decide on my own. I'll accept advice; it would be foolish not to use experience of those older than me, but I've learned to only truly trust myself. I don't believe that authority figures are always right. They didn't help me when I needed them after all; I take everything I learn with a grain of salt until I can ascertain new information. It served me well. The only thing I'll accept is a fair trial for Sirius Black to hear with my own ears that he did or didn't do it. I know there are methods to be certain somebody lies or not. Like magical oaths. I know there are more, but I didn't get through the whole book on politics yet. I concentrated on education, culture and history. If I don't see the trial taking place within three months, a letter with the information I **will **find out until then will go to the office of the Prime Minister." Harry said.

"Do you really think you can force the Ministry of Magic to do anything?" Dumbledore asked sceptically.

"I indeed do. Did you forget that I'm the most famous wizard alive? I read the books on the war against Voldemort and I read also about the duel you had with Grindelwald in 1945. People fell over themselves to do your bidding, Professor Dumbledore. Those that defeat Dark Lords are favourites of the masses. If I told the public about my doubts and that I only want that our Ministry, the place where justice should be served, gives my godfather a fair trial, and that they didn't do their duty, with a little mention that it could have been them that could have been sent to Azkaban without a trial, don't you think people would riot?" Harry asked with a calculating look.

"You would really go that far, Harry?" Dumbledore asked shocked, not liking at all how calculating this eleven year old boy was and how far he was willing to go to reach his goals.

"I indeed would. I'm a firm believer in upholding the law for everybody. And every politician fears how he looks in the eyes of the public. Massive negative press leads to loss of political clout. The only thing they will have to do is giving Sirius, and while we are at it, everybody who perhaps also didn't get a trial after the war, said trial. Nothing more. It shouldn't even be an issue at all." Harry said. "Well, as that is settled, I think you wanted to tell me more about other people that couldn't take me in. I don't think if Sirius was meant to be Secret Keeper, in case he was and this wasn't all a huge deception, they would have relied on one person." Harry changed the topic easily.

Dumbledore was taken aback by the thought it could have been a deception. The marauders would have been capable of thinking something up to throw Voldemort off.

"Yes, well there was one other very good friend of your father, Remus Lupin, but because of a certain condition he has, he hasn't been allowed to take care of you. Then there were Alice and Frank Longbottom, good friends of your parents, who have a son your age too. Sadly they were attacked by Death Eaters shortly after the defeat of Voldemort and, well, they were tortured to insanity. They are staying here at St. Mungo's in the long-term spelldamage ward, unable to even recognize Neville when he visits them." Dumbledore told Harry.

"That's horrible. What happened to Neville?" Harry asked honestly shocked.

"His grandmother raised him. But with all the people that your parents trusted not being available to take care of you, well you see the problems." Dumbledore said.

"What kind of condition prevents Remus Lupin from taking care of me?" Harry asked.

"He was bitten by a werewolf when he was a child. Therefore the Ministry classifies him as a dark creature. He is a very nice man and was a loyal friend to your parents, but with him transforming once a month into a beast, nobody would have allowed for you to grow up with him." Dumbledore said.

"Hm, I don't see the problem if that is only an issue for one day a month. I mean, he is human twenty seven days of twenty eight each month. Only the full moon transforms him and I don't think my dad would have been his friend if he was dangerous to others during that time. I would rather think there were precautions taken. Otherwise the muggles would have found out already about the magical world. People turning into werewolves are only part of horror stories." Harry pondered.

"I'm very happy you can see the difference. Most witches and wizards can't and only see the beast." Dumbledore said smiling.

"Stupid idiots; does the whole wizarding world lack common sense?" Harry asked.

"Sometimes it seems like that. Well, for the rest of the holidays until school starts, I think it would be best if you were able to learn more about the wizarding world. I guess with your love for reading you would like to get a few more books as well. If you agree, I would organize for you to get a room in the Leaky Cauldron for a while. I have asked the gamekeeper of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid, if he would look after you over the days and help you get an idea of the wizarding world. He agreed. He would floo to the Leaky Cauldron every day at a certain time and take you to Diagon Alley for you to look around and, in case you decide to accept your place at Hogwarts, to get your supplies." Dumbledore said.

"I can agree to that. I wanted to know something regarding the choice of school as well. I know in Europe my best options are Hogwarts and Beauxbatons; both would be possible for me to attend as I am fairly good at speaking French already. I have something of a knack for learning languages. If I would accept the place at Hogwarts and found out that I absolutely couldn't get along with the teachers there or another issue turned up, would I be able to change schools? I have decided I need to get trained in my magic, but I hesitate to make that step, especially as there seem to be many things that need to be changed in the British wizarding world if they allow people to be thrown into prison without a trial." Harry said.

Dumbledore knew this was a deciding moment. While Harry had accepted his apology, he hadn't completely forgiven him, and didn't trust him at all as it seemed. Being under his direct influence probably played into the decision as well. And the case of Sirius really didn't look good for the British magical government.

"Yes, that would be possible. But you would also need the permission of your guardian once he is chosen. As you are currently a ward of both the magical and the muggle governments, the responsible departments would take your choice into consideration and only if your choice wouldn't make any sense would deny you your choice." He said.

"Good. I will use the remaining time to get the rest of the books read and get some more options of magical schools covered. I want to know more about American schools as well. Are there possibilities of arranging for me to take the end of year exams in the muggle world as well? And while we are at it, can I bring in tutors for the non-magical subjects? Perhaps a witch or wizard who was raised in the muggle world like me and continued with the non-magical education, either after magical school or during that time would work. I think other muggleborns or muggle-raised children would agree to that. I don't want to give up on my normal education. I worked too hard to forfeit my chance to go to university in case I don't like my options in the wizarding world. I can be a wizard and still work in the muggle world if necessary." Harry asked.

"I'd have to ask the Department of Magical Education if there are possibilities for us to arrange the tests, otherwise you would have to ask the muggle department that deals with that kind of actions. I don't know of others that chose to do both. Most think the workload is too much." Dumbledore informed Harry.

He had not even thought of offering additional classes for muggleborns to continue their non-magical education. But if that was what was necessary to get Harry to come to Hogwarts he would find a way to do it. And if the boy connected to others during those classes, he might be less inclined to change schools if an issue came up.

"That wouldn't be an issue. I have an excellent memory and know certain techniques to easier remember things. I'm already ahead in the subjects I want to continue with anyway. I guess I could pass the tests for two years ahead of my age group. I guess Professor McGonagall told you I could have skipped fifth year at primary school and just be put into sixth year. Well, my teachers gave me more advanced material to learn after that. It's one reason I got those scholarships offered." Harry said.

"Yes, I heard about that and I am really impressed how well you did in primary school. I hope you decide to attend Hogwarts; I would enjoy having you as a student. I will arrange for the room at the Leaky Cauldron. Perhaps you should get a hat or something like that to cover your hair and the scar if you don't want to be mobbed directly. People have waited for ten years for your return; they will want to welcome you back." Dumbledore said and stood from his chair.

"I'll think about it." Harry said.

Dumbledore nodded and left the room.

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**So, still no decision, but Dumbledore is now forced to move to have a chance to get Harry to Hogwarts. Will it be enough? **


	4. Curse Scar

**Hi, I am back to my normal weekend updates after my huge Christmas special. Happy reading.**

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**The Curse Scar**

At eleven o'clock Healer Reggam was back with the cursebreaker he had spoken about.

"Good morning, Mr Potter, this is Staniel Wundermoor, a curse breaker from Gringotts. We are going to see what we can do about your scar. I fear this will be a bit painful, but it is essential that you don't move. Therefore I'll put you under a full-body bind. That will make sure we can work without disturbance." Healer Reggam explained. "Sadly as we don't really know what we are dealing with we don't want to risk using a sleeping charm or potion on you just yet. It might have negative effects on the procedure. We have a pain potion ready in case you need it after we dealt with whatever resides in your scar."

"I see. Well, nothing that can be changed about it. I'll just have to get through it." Harry said steeling himself. Pain was after all nothing he hadn't dealt with before.

"Good. Please lie down on the bed and relax, that'll make the body bind more bearable." Healer Reggam said.

Harry did what he was told.

"Petrificus Totalus." Healer Reggam said, pointing his wand at Harry's body. Harry felt the odd sensation of not being able to move at all. He couldn't even open his eyes anymore.

Then he heard words spoken which he couldn't make any sense of.

"That's indeed a nasty thing you have here, Reggam. There seems to be something small in the scar that has absorbed dark energy." Wundermoor said. "I need you to cut the scar open a few inches deep to get the object out of there."

Harry felt his forehead being cut open. Then a horrible pain shot through his head when he felt something being pulled out. It felt like it didn't want to be taken out of his head. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the thing in his head had to give up its hold and flew out. His magic reacted. It was like a flood into a space that had formerly been blocked with a dam. His magic seemed to wash all small remainders of the dam away; every tiny little bit of residue was pushed out of his head through the open scar. It felt strange, but he could tell that it was good for him. He still had a headache, but it was better than before, not as unbearable, only like a slight migraine. Then he felt his body being able to move again and a glass being held to his lips.

"Drink, it's a pain reliever." Healer Reggam told him and Harry opened his mouth to swallow the potion.

He felt drained, but he didn't understand why. When the potion started working, he opened his eyes again and saw Mr Wundermoor holding a vial with a black one and a half centimetres long, thin splint in it.

"That thing was in my scar?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, and pretty deep inside as well. I guess it got in there when the killing curse backfiring on You-Know-Who blasted up your room. There was a lot of debris and destroyed furniture from what the reports on site stated. Wundermoor, can you tell anything about the dark residue?" Healer Reggam asked.

Staniel Wundermoor did a few spells to examine the splint. Then he started cursing. He did some more spells and the splint showed an eerie, sickly green hue. Harry felt repulsed even being close to it. To think it had been stuck in his head for nearly all his life made him feel horribly sick.

"This is a huge problem. I need and expert on Dark Magic, best of all Professor Dumbledore, here at once." Wundermoor said.

"Why, what is wrong with the splint besides the fact that it was in Mr Potter's head for ten years?" Healer Reggam asked. He was examining Harry now to see the after effects of the splint being pulled from his head. At the moment a black oily substance was flowing out of the scar.

Harry wasn't too sure about involving Professor Dumbledore in anything related to his health. He didn't trust the old man. What could he be able to do that others couldn't?

"This thing has a part of You-Know-Who's soul in it, that's wrong. I know we sometimes have to deal with things like this in ancient tombs in Egypt. Was really popular in those days. It was a means to gain immortality, but such a thing doesn't really exist in the way the wizards of that time hoped for. They hoped with a thing like this, they couldn't be killed. That isn't true, a body can still die. What they do however is preventing a soul from passing on. Normally that isn't a huge problem. You only need a good exorcist to banish the trapped spirits from this plain. But in case of a wizard like You-Know-Who I would guess he had looked up ways to make it work. That's why I need Professor Dumbledore.

"There are several ways to manage getting a body back if one is desperate enough or willing to pursue into the deepest pits of dark magic. There are rituals that use certain sacrifices to return a spirit to a body. We should make sure that none of them is an option. But there is an even easier one if you have the right resources. That way is the Elixir of Life, a substance of great power and rejuvenating abilities that can be produced with a Philosopher's Stone and the only currently existing stone belongs to Nicolas Flamel, an old friend of Dumbledore." Wundermoor explained.

"Okay, I'll get him immediately. Tibby." Healer Reggam called understanding the urgency now.

The house elf popped into the room while Reggam was writing a short note and transfigured a handkerchief into an envelope.

"Master Reggam called Tibby?" The elf asked.

"Yes, Tibby, I need you to immediately get this message to Professor Dumbledore. Nobody can see this message except him. Tell him we need him at St. Mungo's immediately." Healer Reggam instructed the elf.

"Of course, Master Reggam." Tibby said and popped away.

"How are you feeling, Mr Potter?" Healer Reggam asked.

"Drained. The headache is better now, but it feels strange in my head. Like there has been a dam and now water is flooding into the open space." Harry tried to describe the feelings.

Then a flash of a flame appeared in the room and Albus Dumbledore appeared with a red and golden bird on his shoulder. Harry got a really nice feeling from the bird.

"I just got your message from Tibby. Did you really find a horcrux in Harry's scar?" He asked concerned.

"Yes, there is a soul piece of You-Know-Who latched onto this splint of wood. It was a bit tricky to get out of Mr Potter's scar as it put up fairly strong resistance." Healer Reggam explained.

The bird meanwhile looked at Harry and flew over to him. He looked into the boy's tired eyes. Harry felt some kind of connection to the bird. He felt warm and safe.

"It seems Fawkes hasn't forgotten you, Harry. When you were a baby and your parents had you with them to meetings with me, you always were very fond of Fawkes." Dumbledore said smiling.

Then Fawkes started crying on the now open scar. He let the tears fall into the cut and with every tear Harry felt better.

"Incredible. I wouldn't have thought to be able to ever see a phoenix healing somebody he wasn't bonded to." Wundermoor said flabbergasted.

"Thanks, Fawkes." Harry said and reached out to pet the phoenix.

Fawkes trilled like he was saying 'You're welcome' and let Harry stroke his feathers. Then he flew back to Dumbledore's shoulder. Dumbledore was very encouraged by the behaviour of Fawkes. If Harry had become dark, Fawkes wouldn't have healed him with his tears. That meant Harry was still pure despite his horrible experiences.

Harry sat up again, looking at the adults.

"What is a horcrux and what is so special about that splint?" Harry asked.

First Dumbledore didn't want to reveal such dark magic to an eleven year old boy, but then he thought better. Harry already knew a lot and if he wanted to have a chance that Harry would choose Hogwarts for his education he needed to give him incentives. He knew that there were other really good schools out in the world that Harry could choose over Hogwarts. He had already given some thought to what he could offer Harry to make the decision for Hogwarts. Some would be radical, but some could easily be achieved. And he needed to give the boy the impression that he wasn't kept in the dark concerning things that directly involved him. Harry wouldn't rest until he knew what the splint meant and why it would influence his life from here on. But he still thought that the prophecy would be a bit much for now. The boy had just learned about magic. That part he would have to ease the boy into over a longer period of time.

"A horcrux, Harry, is the darkest of magic. Not very many people know of them, mostly cursebreakers like Mr Wundermoor here and those that have studied the Dark Arts intensely like those with a mastery in Defence Against the Dark Arts. But even within that group there are not many. Some decades back the knowledge was more available, but I feared what certain people would do if they found out about it. So when I became headmaster at Hogwarts I took all the books regarding the darkest arts of magic from the library. I didn't think it would be good if students had access to those dangerous books. The way a horcrux works is that the witch or wizard that creates it has to commit the worst crime, committing murder. That act tears the soul apart. The piece that is torn from the main part of the soul is stored in a container. As long as the horcrux exists the owner of the horcrux can't really die." Dumbledore explained.

"Now, to fully understand why a horcrux is the most despicable kind of magic you need to know that to a wizard or witch the soul is normally sacrosanct. A whole soul enables you to keep your magic in balance and use your full potential. At least concerning magic that isn't completely dark and twisted. Some kinds of that magic work better if your soul is mutilated. But as far as I know none of the dark lords and ladies in history ever went that far. They knew that they would lose the obedience of their followers if they went and used that magic. There are other ways to reach a kind of immortality that doesn't maim your soul. A whole soul can be a strong weapon as well."

"Well, the person also doesn't really live as well if the horcrux is the thing that keeps the rest of the soul on the plain of the living. That's the reason I called you. I know that you are friends with Nicolas Flamel, Professor Dumbledore. His Philosopher's Stone and the elixir of life it produces are one way how You-Know-Who could return to a body. It would be best if you warned the Flamels of the danger." Wundermoor piped in after the explanation.

"That I'll indeed do. It's good to know that now, because Nicolas already had found signs that somebody is after his stone again. I'll probably think of something to increase the stone's protection. It can't fall into the wrong hands." Dumbledore said.

"What exactly are this elixir of life and the Philosopher's Stone?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore smiled at the inquisitiveness of the boy. Perhaps he would still go to Ravenclaw and not Slytherin. With as many children of Death Eaters as there were in the house it wouldn't be the safest place for Harry. And Severus also wouldn't like to have the son of his school enemy in his house. Filius meanwhile would be delighted to have Lily's son in his house.

"The Philosopher's stone is the highest achievement in the art of Alchemy. It's a stone that can transform normal metal to gold and also produces the elixir of life. This elixir is so powerful that it enables people to live on even over their normal end of life if they continue drinking it. The person is kept at a middle age, around forty five. Nicolas is six hundred and sixty five now and his wife Perenelle is six hundred and fifty nine but none of them looks older than forty. When I was younger I worked together with him as his apprentice. I learned a lot from him and Perenelle. Those years are some I always remember very fondly." Dumbledore told Harry.

"Wow, they really are that old? Wasn't it hard for them to see their friends get old and die?" Harry asked.

"I honestly never asked them." Dumbledore answered surprised with the question.

He made plans to make a trip to Nicolas and Perenelle next. They needed to be aware what they had found out now. It was their decision what to do with the stone. He had spoken with them about hiding the stone at Hogwarts to have it even better protected than it was at Gringotts after Nicholas had mentioned their concerns about a possible theft. Now it seemed more important than ever to act quickly.

"How will the extraction of the splint horcrux, which definitely was an accident to be made, influence Harry?" He asked.

"I don't know. It could have happened that he got some abilities transferred that You-Know-Who had, but I am not sure. With the removal, he could either have lost them or kept them." Healer Reggam said.

Harry had an idea. It would probably be a little bit risky, but as they had just given him an opening, he might be able to blame everything on Voldemort and still keep the majority of people ignorant. And getting more information on the man that had tried to kill him as a baby would be smart.

"Were there any special abilities that Voldemort had?" He asked. "If there were we could see if I had them and answer that question."

"That's a good idea, Harry." Wundermoor agreed. "Well, he was a parselmouth, that much is widely known, but all members of the Slytherin line are. Then it is known that he was very magically gifted and learned new spells quickly."

"He had a natural talent for the mind arts as well as Potions, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts. He even tried to apply for the position of Defence teacher twice. Once directly after graduation, but Professor Dippet, my predecessor as headmaster, thought him too young for the position and told him to apply again if he still was interested in teaching once he had more experience and was a few years older. He did so when I was headmaster and had already heard about his exploits in the dark arts. He was the most intelligent student I had had in some time and soaked up knowledge like a sponge. He was always driven and managed to present himself positively to those around him. Many flocked to him thanks to his natural charisma and his looks. Before he made his horcruxes he was a very handsome young man." Dumbledore told his observations.

Harry pondered that information. The only part he knew he had was speaking parseltongue. How to turn this that they wouldn't call him dark?

"Are those abilities naturally dark? I mean I read a bit about Salazar Slytherin being a parselmouth in a History of Hogwarts, but why would the three other founders have allowed him to help with the project if being a parseltongue was dark?" Harry asked faking pure curiosity.

"No, the ability itself isn't dark. It's the opposite actually. The first known parselmouths were revered healers. It is part of the first-year history curriculum at healer school. The old Greek wizard Asclepius was a parselmouth and the most famous healer of the time. I don't know much about his abilities, there are no remaining records from that time, but stories that were handed down by word of mouth speak of him hissing at wounds that other healers declared incurable and healing them. There must be powerful magic of healing in parseltongue. If you would be interested in that area though, you would probably have to do a lot research on your own, Mr Potter." Healer Reggam said.

Harry nodded, this was a good opener.

"So if I had that ability it would probably be from the time the splint was stuck in my head?" Harry asked.

"Yes, he was, why did you speak with a snake?" Wundermoor asked.

Harry nodded.

"A few weeks ago in the zoo I noticed I could understand the snakes. I thought I heard a lizard talk as well, but that I could have imagined. I was a bit unsure what it meant, especially after reading some of my books and there being so many controversial opinions on it." Harry said.

"Well, that's easy to find out. Serpensortia." Dumbledore said and conjured a garden snake.

"_What am I doing here?"_ The snake hissed.

"_Hello?"_ Harry hissed back.

"_A Speaker? I never met a speaker."_ The snake hissed excited.

"_We are just testing my abilities."_ Harry answered. _"Do you know if a parseltongue can also talk to other reptiles like lizards?"_

"_Yes, you can. Lizards are cousins to us snakes. As are our more distant cousins the dragons. But you can only talk to close relatives to the snakes. Something like those brute alligators you can't talk to. Or those turtles."_ The snake informed him.

"_Thank you for the information. Are there special abilities snakes have?"_ Harry asked.

"_Not that I know of. I am a normal garden snake. You would have to find a magical snake to find out."_ The snake replied.

"_Okay, thanks for telling me all of this."_ Harry said.

"_Please tell the big human with the long hair in his face that I want to go back where he called me from. I was enjoying a bath in the sun."_ The snake hissed.

"_I will tell him."_ Harry promised chuckling at the description.

"Professor Dumbledore, the snake wants to go back from where you got her as she enjoyed a sunbath there." Harry said in English now.

Professor Dumbledore chuckled and waved his wand, having the snake return to her former location.

"Well, it seems you got that ability permanently. Sadly many people think it's a dark ability. As Healer Reggam said in ancient times it was seen as a healer's ability." Dumbledore said pondering.

"Perhaps I will do more research on that topic. I haven't decided yet what profession I want to pursue later, but being a healer was on the list of jobs that interested me. And if being a parselmouth would mean I had a natural talent for it, I might consider that way." Harry admitted.

"Well, you have some years to find out your calling, Harry. I will take my leave now and inform Nicolas." Dumbledore said and gave Fawkes a look and the phoenix flashed them away.

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**I know this chapter is shorter than the others, but it didn't really fit to the former or the next chapter.**


	5. Hagrid

**Hi everybody. I decided this story would be the one to be updated this weekend. Happy reading.**

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**Hagrid**

Harry had to spend one more night as Healer Reggam wanted to make sure that there were no negative after-effects of the splint being removed. The next morning his diagnosis spell came up with very little dark residue. It seemed now that the splint was gone, the healing could take place like it should have years ago. Harry felt better than ever before. When he woke up in the morning and intended to go to the bathroom to put his contacts in, he noticed he could see clearly. Seemingly the splint had badly influenced his eyes. He also figured Fawkes' tears could have helped. He wasn't sure, but he thought it was great that he could see without optical support. When Harry walked down into the entrance hall, he saw a giant of a man standing there. When the man, who had a bushy black beard with similar hair and a strange brown overcoat with lots of pockets like it seemed, saw him his face lit up.

He walked over to him.

"Hello, Harry. Professor Dumbledore sent me to get yer to the Leaky Cauldron. Told me yer would stay there for a while and wanted to learn more about the magical world. Oh, by the way, I'm Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. But call me Hagrid, Ev'ry one does. Heard what those bloody muggles did to yer. Horrible I tell yer. Treating Lily and James Potter's son like that. Yer mother would have hexed her sister good if she could." Hagrid said huffing.

Harry couldn't help and find Hagrid nice. He didn't seem to be the brightest, but he definitely had an aura of kindness around him.

"Nice to meet you, Hagrid." Harry said, holding out his hand for Hagrid to shake.

Hagrid took the hand and shook it.

"No need for that much formality, Harry. I've to say you've grown a good part since I las' saw yer. Fit in my hand las' time. 'T was me who got yer outta the house. So tiny and tha' cut on yer forehead. If I'd known what those muggles would do, I'd have left 'em a present' ter show 'em my opinion of 'em." Hagrid told him.

Harry grinned. He had some pretty nice ideas what he could do to the Dursleys if he ever had the bad luck of meeting them again.

"C'mon. Let's take yer to the Cauldron. We'll have ter take muggle transport. I don' fit in the floo here." Hagrid said.

"No problem. How far is Charing Cross Road away from here?" Harry asked.

"On foot, twenty minutes. I don' know about those muggle vehicles. Never really learned how ter go by 'em. Only those train like ones." Hagrid answered.

"That's no problem. As long as you know the way, we can walk. I've never really been to London except for the finals of the primary school championship in football. But then we were only driven to the stadium where the competition was taking place." Harry said.

"Yes, I heard yer were really good at football. I'm curious how yer'd be at Quidditch. Yer dad was a great Quidditch player. Gave yer mum quite a few scares when they were dating in their seventh year." Hagrid chuckled.

"You knew them better?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I did. Even at school. Yer da' and his gang of friends were a right han'ful. Always up ter prank somebody. Liked a good laugh 'em. Don' know how often I had ter chase 'em outta the forest. But they were great people yer parents. Is a shame what happened to 'em. They were headboy and 'girl in their time. Both very bright. But yer mum also had a temper when she wanted. Yer da' was a bit stupid abou' his attemp's at tryin' ter win her. Got himself hexed good if she was furious. Needed ter mellow out a bit ter get her, but I've rarely seen a couple so in love as 'em after they finally were together. And when yer were born, yer da' an' his friends let loose a great firework at the Hogwarts grounds.

"Thought the students and teachers should also celebrate with 'em. And one look was 'nough to see they loved yer more than anythin'. Really great people they were." Hagrid said, having to clean his nose over the memories.

Harry was touched. This was more than he ever had heard about them. And they seemed to be normal people, with their own quirks.

"What position did my dad play at Quidditch?" Harry asked.

"He was chaser, and a damn good one. From wha' Lily an' James told us during Order meetin's you were a natural on a broom. Yer da' found it terribly funny, yer mum not so much as yer nearly killed her cat on tha' toy broom yer had." Hagrid chuckled.

Harry laughed. He tried to imagine the faces of his mum and dad when they told their stories. The only problem was he didn't have a picture to go by.

"Hagrid, were there any photos left in the house, when you got me?" Harry asked hopefully.

"I didn' get ter really look. I only got yer outta there. But I can try an' see if some of their ol' friends have some which they'd give yer." Hagrid said.

"That would be great. I never saw a photo of them and never was allowed to ask questions about them with the Dursleys." Harry said.

"Bloody muggles, I'd like ter introduce 'em ter Fluffy sometime." Hagrid mumbled.

"Who is Fluffy?" Harry asked, not being capable of imagining anything called Fluffy scaring the Dursleys.

"A three headed dog I got from a Greek chappie a while ago. Real softy he is, yer only need ter know how ter handle him. Play 'im a bit of music an' he falls asleep. Mos' magical creatures are only misunderstood, I think. Look at 'em callin' Thestrals dangerous creatures. Only 'cause they can only be seen by those who've seen death. Thestrals can look after 'emselves. Ministry fools don' like tha'. We've a 'hole herd at Hogwarts. They pull the carriages for the students when they come with the Hogwarts Express every year." Hagrid said while they walked through the part of London where St. Mungo's was located towards Diagon Alley.

Harry imagined the Dursleys covering in fear while a big Cerberus growled at them. He grinned evilly. Perhaps there was a way to make that meeting happen one day.

"What other creatures are living at Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"Well, of course we've a whole bunch of owls. Really useful. Many students bring their owls too o'er the year. You see, they carry yer mail, get yer the newspaper and make good pets. I don' like cats ter much, they make me sneeze and tha' cat of Filch, the caretaker, always follows me 'round when I'm in the castle. Filch puts her onto it, I'm sure. I'd like ter give her a good kick sometimes. Nasty piece o' …" Hagrid stopped saying what he thought of the caretaker's cat.

"Other students have toads, but they wen' outta fashion years ago. Yer don' wanna be seen with one. There are a few others. I know one o' the Weasley boys has a rat. In the grounds there are many great creatures. They mos'ly live in the forest. It's forbidden for students to go there. I don' know though how often I've chased those Weasley twins outta there. There are Hippogriffs, we have a knarl colony, a few bowtruckles, salamanders, acromantula, unicorns, a giant squid in the lake, a few grindylows are also in there, some fairies, centaurs are living in the forest, the normal forest animals you also find in muggle forests and I know there is a runespoor somewhere inside. I never saw it meself, but I found eggshells durin' one of me walks." Hagrid listed the creatures.

"Wow, that's a lot of creatures. What exactly is a runespoor?" Harry asked.

"A magical snake with three heads. Many fear snakes, but they're only animals like others. Don' anger 'em an' they won' harm yer." Hagrid said.

Finally Harry recognized Charing Cross Road.

"Ah, we're here. Let's get ter Tom an' see what room he got yer. Then if yer want I can show yer around Diagon Alley a bit. I guess yer didn' see ter much with Professor McGonagall. She tends ter keep visits ter the essentials." Hagrid said.

"Yes, I know a few shops like the bookshop and I saw the others in walking past. We were at Gringotts to get me some money first and I have an appointment with my account manager Corpnik on my birthday at ten in the morning." Harry confirmed Hagrid's assumption.

Hagrid led Harry into the Leaky Cauldron and asked Tom where Harry's room would be.

"Ah, yes Professor Dumbledore came by and told me you would stay here for a while until he got the matter of where you'll stay in the future solved. He also told me to keep your stay here secret. He didn't want the press to come upon you like vultures. Can be nasty those in bigger numbers. Keep an eye out for Rita Skeeter. She has a very sharp and nasty quill. Always out to get a sensational story. Doesn't always print the complete truth though. She likes to exaggerate. Here we are; room twelve, a bit isolated from the other rooms. Breakfast is down in the pub from seven to half past nine. Lunch and dinner don't have fixed times; just remember the kitchen closes at half past eleven." Tom said.

"Okay, I'll remember that." Harry said.

Harry was led to the second floor of the Leaky Cauldron. There room 12 was located at the end of the corridor. The room itself held a comfy looking queen size bed with dark blue curtains by the window. There were a rustically looking wardrobe, a desk, shelves for books, a chest of drawers and table with two armchairs by a small fireplace.

"Why don' you get settled in, Harry and when you're done, yer join me for lunch down in the pub. After tha' we can take a walk aroun' Diagon." Hagrid suggested.

"Sounds good to me, Hagrid." Harry said.

Hagrid and Tom left the room and Harry started to put his few clothes into the wardrobe and chest of drawers. He placed his books on a shelf and let himself fall onto the bed. It was soft and he was sure he would sleep really well in it. Finally Harry decided it was time to go down to Hagrid. He wanted to see Diagon Alley, but he also needed to get some more clothes for normal day wear. The one set Professor McGonagall had got him was well, but he couldn't wear it all the time. It would need washing sometime and he also didn't want to look like a slob. No, those days were over. He looked into the mirror and noticed that his scar, while still red, didn't look as pronounced as before anymore. Perhaps it would fade more over time so that it would be hard to notice.

* * *

He walked down to the pub, having made sure that his fringe covered the scar. At the moment the weather was too warm to think about wearing a cap or something like that. On top the scar was still tender and putting pressure on it wasn't a smart idea. And he doubted people would recognize him immediately as long as the scar was covered and Hagrid and Tom didn't slip up. He spotted Hagrid easily. With his size, Hagrid stood out everywhere. Harry took a seat on the other side of Hagrid and asked what food was recommendable here. Hagrid told him the shepherd's pie was good, so Harry decided to test it.

While they were eating, Harry asked Hagrid more about Hogwarts.

"So what is the school like?" Harry asked.

"Ah, Hogwarts is great. The castle and the grounds aroun' are big 'nough to have place fer a thousan' students easily. At the momen' though, we only have abou' three hundred. Yer see, durin' the war, many died before they had children. Shame tha', so many good people fell ter You-Know-Who. The McKinnons, the Bones, the Prewetts. Sometimes the Death Eaters also turned on the babies and lil' children. Monsters they all were. So many died. So the current years at Hogwarts only have a bi' mor'n forty each. Numbers'll go up again soon. Nex' two years are the las' ones where the war was still goin' when the children were born.

"Was a right boom o' babies the year after You-Know-Who was defeated. So numbers'll go up. There're four houses, as yer know. Gryffindor, my ol' house, yer parents were also in there, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw an' Slytherin. Each's named after a founder. Gryffindors are brave an' honourable, Hufflepuffs are mos'ly seen as duffers, but yer won' find a person more loyal an' hard-workin' than a Puff. Ravenclaws are the smart ones. Yer'll nearly always find 'em with a book. And the Slytherins are cunning an' ambitious, but nearly all those tha' supported You-Know-Who were in that house. Dark place Slytherin has become. Wasn' as bad in my time. Still had nasty folks there.

"The students in a house have their classes together. Sometimes with another house. Hogwarts also has a great Quidditch pitch. Big competition fer the cup each year. If yer sorted in Gryffindor you'll see how fanatic some people can be. Captain of the Gryffindor team, Wood, is highly competitive. Doesn' like losing tha' guy. Had ter take a harsh loss in the las' match las' year."

Harry nodded. He wanted to see if he could play Quidditch. But the no broom for first-years rule sucked.

"Hagrid, are there rules against first-years trying out for the teams?" Harry asked.

"Interested eh? I only know 'bout the broom rule, but not abou' a not tryin' out rule. Yer would have ter talk to Madam Hooch, the flyin' instructor to know. With how James always boasted abou' yer talent, yer could have a chance." Hagrid said smiling.

Harry finished his pie and told Tom to put the money on his room bill. Then he and Hagrid went to the back door and Hagrid held up the pink umbrella, which Harry had wondered about for some time and tipped the stone McGonagall had also used to open the passage.

"Why didn't you use your wand to open the arch?" Harry asked.

"Well, yer know, Harry. I was at Hogwarts meself when I was younger, but I was expelled and me wand snapped." Hagrid said.

"But why were you expelled?" Harry asked.

"Ah, see over there; let's start the tour with the Magical Menagerie." Hagrid deflected the question.

Harry understood that Hagrid didn't want to talk about it, but he would do research to see if he could find out.

* * *

Over the next two hours Hagrid showed Harry around Diagon Alley and some of the side alleys where insiders got some pretty neat things. He also showed him where Knockturn Alley started and warned him not to go in there. Pretty dark folks in there, he told Harry. Harry was informed about the clothes shops that were there, Madam Malkin's, the shop where most people shopped and then Twilfitt and Tatting's, a shop that courted the wealthier clientele. Harry would wait and see what he had inherited until he decided on his wardrobe. The appointment with Corpnik would see to him getting that information. He noticed that some people gave him disapproving looks, probably because of his appearance in muggle clothes. Well, they were some people whose faces he would remember. They didn't seem like the people he wanted to be close to.

He intended to get in touch with the higher society that was either light sided or neutral. The dark sided ones he would treat politely but distantly. Perhaps show up a few to make himself look better in the eyes of his peers. Hagrid also took him to Quality for Quidditch, the shop for Quidditch equipment. There was a broom on display that caught quite a few awed comments from children and teenagers that stood in front of the window. Harry asked Hagrid if they could go inside, because he wanted to ask an employee about brooms and which broom would be best for which position. As they didn't have a time limit Hagrid agreed.

Harry went to the counter where two employees, a man and a woman, stood and talked. At the moment there wasn't much business as most families went shopping for Hogwarts in August.

"Hello, I would like some information on brooms." Harry asked politely.

"Of course, what do you want to know?" The male employee asked.

"Well, I would like to know what broom would be best for which position. I've only just learned about the magical world and find Quidditch fascinating. While there is the rule that first-years are not allowed their own brooms, I'd like to be informed. Hagrid said my dad told him I was a natural even as a one year old." Harry said, pointing at Hagrid.

"That's no problem. Well, you know the positions of the players and their jobs?" The employee asked.

"Yes. Keeper, beaters, chasers and seeker." Harry said.

"Correct. Well, the keeper doesn't need a broom with much high speed as he only covers a small area of the field in front of the hoops. Therefore a keeper needs a sturdy broom that has a quick short acceleration. The Cleansweep series has two models for Quidditch. One a bit more graceful for precise manoeuvres and one for the quick but rough work of the keeper. Therefore the best model for keepers at the moment is a Cleansweep 6. The 5er model is better for chasers. That's the graceful one. For beaters, you need brooms that can take a bit of power-play. They have to be fast enough to get the bludgers, but also stable in the air when a beater knocks it in another direction. The Comet 300 is the one that has the best recommendations. For chasers there are some more options. As I said the Cleansweep 5 is well-suited but the Nimbus 2000, which is on display in our shop window, is fantastic for the position as well. It's the fasted model on the market right now. You have the manoeuvrability and the speed in the same broom. Last for a seeker I'd also recommend the Nimbus. A seeker needs to go at high speeds and have good manoeuvrability at the same time." The employee explained.

"Which position did you think about trying out for next year?" He asked.

"Either chaser like my dad was or seeker. I'd have to see if I can shoot goals from a broom. I only know how to do it with my feet." Harry said.

"With your feet?" The employee asked confused.

"I'm muggle raised, even if I'm a halfblood. I played football in my primary school and there you shoot goals with a ball you kick around the field. The goals are broader than a Quidditch hoop though and the teams have eleven players each." Harry explained.

"I see. Well, once you know, you know where you can find whatever broom you prefer." He said.

"I'm sure I will. Thanks for the information." Harry said smiling.

"No problem." The employee said.

Harry walked over to the door where Hagrid was waiting. The shop was a bit cramped for his size.

"And. Did you get your information, Harry?" He asked.

"Yes, the employee was very helpful." Harry said and they left the shop.

The two employees looked at each other.

"Do you think that could have been Harry Potter?" The female asked.

"Don't know. I couldn't see his forehead where the scar would be. But he did look like a lot like James Potter. Unbelievable to think we had Harry Potter in the shop and didn't even recognize him."

* * *

Harry and Hagrid made another stop at Flourish and Blotts where Harry got a few more books, one on American and Australian schools each, one on warding, one on magical languages, one on another period of history than the ones Harry already had, and when Harry spotted a series with his name on it, he wanted to know what they were about and also took the first one. He still had the bag that automatically shrunk his books and placed his purchases in there. Hagrid took Harry to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour and got him a sundae, which Harry was happy to accept.

* * *

On their way back to the Cauldron, they passed Eeylops Owl Emporium and Harry felt a strange pull towards the shop and wanted to find out what that meant, so he went inside with Hagrid. All over the place were owls of different kinds. The pull Harry felt came from further back. He walked deeper into the shop and felt he was getting closer. When he was in a dark corner, where no stands were kept, he wondered just what had pulled him here. He looked around and then looked up into two amber eyes that didn't let his eyes wander anywhere else. He felt a strange connection with these eyes. Then he heard a soft ruffle of feathers and the eyes came closer. Harry thought he saw a flash of silver, but he wasn't sure. He instinctively held out his arm and the bird landed there. Harry could make out the form of an owl, but not a native one, that much was sure.

He reached out with his free hand to gently stroke the feathers. The owl let him touch her and then bit lightly into his finger, just enough to draw a drop of blood. Harry felt his magic reaching out and forming a bond with the owl. He had read about the rarity of familiar bonds with animals like normal post owls so this owl was special. When the magical bond was finished, Harry took his new familiar up to the front. He saw that he hadn't been mistaken; within the white feathers of this probably snowy owl were some silver ones. It looked like she was about to change her plumage.

"I'm going to take this owl." Harry said to the employee.

The woman looked at the owl and blinked.

"I didn't know we had one of her kind in the shop. Where did you find her?" She asked.

"In the back in a dark corner without stands. She sat somewhere up." Harry answered, stroking the back of the owl.

"Oh, okay, well, that will be five galleons for the owl. Do you also want a stand and food for her?" She asked.

"Yes, please. I need a stand, food for a week, some treats and a pamphlet how to care for her." Harry said.

The employee collected everything.

"That's six galleons and fifteen sickles then." She said.

Harry was glad now that he had taken twenty five galleons out of the vault. He had spent sixteen galleons and fourteen sickles for the books, so with his new purchases he would still have one galleon and five sickles left. Well, he had his key and could get some more money if he needed it at Gringotts. But for now he didn't think he would have to do any more greater purchases. The owl flew onto his shoulder and rode in that position back to the Leaky Cauldron with them.

"That's a rare kind of owl you have there, Harry." Hagrid said in a low voice.

"Really? When I was out of the shop I felt a pull to the inside. I followed the pull and met her. She is my familiar; I felt the bond forming through my magic before I bought her. What kind of owl is she?" Harry said.

"The silver feathers are the sign of a moon owl. They're often mistaken for snowy owls as they can disguise themselves really well. The reason moon owls are so rare is that they need ter bond to the right wizard. If the wizard they choose is worthy they'll develop into a full moon owl. I don' think the employee knew what she is, or she'd have cost a lot more. If I see this right, she was just in time ter fin' yer. Otherwise she'd become a normal snowy owl. An intelligent one, no doubt, but she'd've lost her special abilities an' probably wouldn't 've formed a familiar bond with yer." Hagrid explained.

Harry smiled at the owl. That an owl as special as her had chosen him, made him really happy.

* * *

It took Harry two more days to get through the books about schools in America and Australia, the magical languages one, the books on politics and culture, the muggleborn guide, the potions basics book and the book on goblins. He also read the book about him and was shocked what this author, Romanio Lockhart, had written about his supposed adventures. And there was no mention that it was all fiction. With how stupid wizards appeared to be, he feared there were some that really believed this nonsense. Who could come up with the stupid idea that he could have tamed a rampaging Hippogriff with four? He didn't even know how a Hippogriff looked like in reality. And stopping a flood with an ice charm at six? He didn't even have a wand yet. And why were they even allowed to use his name? He would have to discuss this with Corpnik during his appointment.

After reading his books about the American and Australian schools he found out that only one of them had a greater choice of classes and combined magical and muggle subjects. But that school started children at eight years of age and for him to enrol now wouldn't be possible. There were some others that had a more advanced curriculum than Hogwarts, but they only took students that had already passed their OWLs with exceptionally high grades. It would be an option for in five years that he would perhaps consider, depending how his time at Hogwarts went.

It seemed his little conversation with Professor Dumbledore had given him the results he had aimed for. He had been right assuming that people would bent over backwards to make sure that he went to Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore had sent him a letter that he had found a muggleborn witch who would be delighted to teach interested students muggle subjects to prepare them for taking the exams in the muggle world each year or simply the A-levels after Hogwarts. There were ways how that could be arranged with magic. It wasn't done often, but there had been cases, though they had had tutors paid by their parents during the summer months.

If Harry was right, Dumbledore had told the Board of Governors that Harry was seriously considering attending another school if he didn't think that Hogwarts wasn't his best option. With how many other good schools there were outside of Britain, that wasn't even hard to prove. Had he not been so opposed to the restrictive nature of the Beauxbatons' code of conduct, he was a free spirit and hated being that restricted, even if the reports on Beauxbatons were otherwise promising, he would have definitely chosen the French school. The major advantage being that Dumbledore wasn't the headmaster. From Hogwarts there were reports on a bad history teacher, a ghost and a biased Potions teacher. But if Dumbledore was serious about him wanting Harry there he would interfere in those areas.

The plan to set up several non-magical subjects just to make Hogwarts more attractive for him was a clear sign that Dumbledore was capable of being flexible. Perhaps he could do a test run for one year. While Hagrid was clearly biased towards Hogwarts and his old house Gryffindor in particular, Harry was good enough to read between lines. It was generally a nice place where students had a lot of personal freedom. What he would lack if he went there would be contacts in the non-magical world, but that could be remedied at university if necessary. And it would probably be easier to organize muggle tutoring in the magical world than magical tutoring in the muggle world if he went to a normal boarding school. First, he would need to find out who were the best tutors, then he needed to get permission of the headmaster or headmistress of his school to let said tutor come during the weekend and keep magic a secret from everybody there.

And his name wasn't really important in the muggle world. He had his talent going for him, but there were limits what a school would be willing to allow him without showing too much favouritism over other students. Seemingly Professor Dumbledore didn't have as many reservations in that area. And perhaps he could start getting more influence in the magical world by starting the combination of muggle and magical studies. It would be quite a coup. Dragging the backwards magical community into the twentieth century without the adults ever realising it. Starting small and then going for a greater scale.

He had decided to accept his place at Hogwarts considering those circumstances. Hogwarts offered him the same classes as Beauxbatons and he wouldn't have to follow the strict code of etiquette. And if he really couldn't stand Hogwarts he could still transfer after first year. But normally that would only be an issue after fifth year if he decided that the additional classes weren't up to his standards. And he had to consider that his family name was especially important here in the British wizarding world. That would automatically open many doors for him. While he was also famous in other countries, they would probably be less inclined to bow to his demands. And the number of subjects Dumbledore had outlined to be added in muggle subjects was really good.

His owl Hedwig, it had been a real challenge to find a name she liked, all the names from mythology that were connected to messengers, owls, wise people and so on, she didn't like. In one of the history books he then came upon the German name. He asked her if that one was okay and after pondering she had agreed. His familiar definitely had her own will, but he liked that about her. She wasn't just an animal, she had a strong personality. At the moment Hedwig was on her way to Hogwarts to deliver his acceptance letter. He had looked up an example of how to correctly phrase the answer to not get in a position of disadvantage. He didn't want to give anybody more power over him than necessary. Hagrid had happily agreed to take him shopping for his things. They would do that the next morning. He still had a week until his appointment at Gringotts, but he thought that he could just get his purchases done and start reading his school books to be prepared.

* * *

During the first walk with Hagrid around the Alley Harry had made a mental list what he would need no matter which school he decided to attend. He wanted a trunk that offered enough space for his things, would have potential to include more than the things for just one year and had a safety system that would only allow him to access certain parts. So the first thing he bought after getting a hundred galleons from his vault was a three compartment trunk with enlarged compartments. One compartment was a full wardrobe whose parts, like drawers for his socks, underwear, shirts, pullovers and pants, a part for hanging his robes without them wrinkling, a set of shelves for his shoes and some general hangers, could be chosen by labelled plates at the side of the compartment. Harry just had to place his hand on the symbol, for example a drawer for socks, and the compartment would turn to that part.

The second compartment was a general storage area that worked like the first compartment. With students of Hogwarts there always were many things they needed to transport and in case of potion ingredients some of them were better stored apart from other things or they could damage them. It wasn't much of a problem with the kit for first year, but the farther you advanced, the more dangerous ingredients you used. The apothecary normally packed them safely, but what the student did over the school year was another matter completely. So the labels were for the ingredient shelves, the writing equipment, parchment, ink and quills, he would have to practice before school to have his handwriting legible, the cases here were built specially to hold up to ten bottles of ink safely in a box with single partitions for each bottle. Then there was an area for toiletries and towels, another area for Quidditch gear and the last part for various things.

The last compartment was a miniature library with currently ten bookcases that could each hold about fifty books. The bookcases could be labelled by the owner of the trunk and the plates at the side would adapt accordingly. It was the perfect trunk for somebody like Harry who wanted to learn all he could, but not to stand out overly. It was the kind of trunk the well-to-do students would bring with them, but nothing most couldn't afford. Of course Harry made sure the convenience charms like a feather-light charm, an auto-shrinking feature, keying the trunk to him only and anti-destruction runes for elemental damage like fire and water were included. The trunk cost Harry thirty galleons, but he reckoned as he intended to use this trunk for a long time, at least the seven years at school, it would be a good investment.

* * *

At Madam Malkin's Harry got the three sets of robes the supplies list demanded. There also was another boy that was fit for robes. He seemed to be his age. He had a strong tan, black hair, but very handsome features. He was accompanied by a very beautiful woman who shared the boy's dark shade of skin colour and his facial form. Though she had long, shiny brown hair and a model figure.

"Hello, dear, Hogwarts too?" Madam Malkin asked Harry.

"Yes, madam." Harry answered.

"You can take the footstool right next to Mr Zabini here." She said smiling.

Madam Malkin was a squat witch; she was wearing mauve coloured robes.

"Thank you, madam." Harry said and stepped on the footstool. Madam Malkin slipped a long black robe over his head and started pinning it at the right size.

"So, you are going to start at Hogwarts this year too." The boy said. "I'm Blaize Zabini." He introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter." Harry said, getting a little squeak from Madam Malkin who was pinning his robes, the witch that was doing the same for Blaize and interested looks from Blaize and his mother.

"Nice to meet you too, I wouldn't have thought to meet you before school, Potter. You had disappeared for quite a long time with nobody knowing where you were living. If you don't mind me asking, where did you grow up?" Blaze asked politely, under the approving looks of his mother. Blaize was handling this first impression with all the dignity and grace that was appropriate for a pureblood of house Zabini.

"No, I don't mind you asking. I was raised by my muggle aunt, but I'd have preferred to never meet her. She's the worst example of muggle you can get as is her husband. But I'm out of there for good now, so I prefer not to talk about them. I lived in Surrey." Harry said.

"I see. So you have attended muggle school. What are they like? I've heard some horrible stories, but I don't know if they are true or exaggerated." Blaize asked.

"After I stopped holding back to appease my relatives to not show up my stupid cousin and just did my thing, it was great. Once the teachers found out that I was smart and also had a talent for football, a muggle sport which can be compared to Quidditch in the wizarding world in popularity, I was supported by them. I rose to the top of my class without suffering the stigma of being a boring bookworm. Athletes are always liked well with their peers I found out, especially if they help winning competitions against other schools' teams." Harry said.

"Indeed. That observation also holds true in our world. I've been home schooled so far with a few other boys from families my mother is associated with." Blaize answered. "What house do you think, you'll be in, or didn't you have time to be informed about them yet?"

"No, I asked for more information about Hogwarts and the magical world in general before I accepted my place at Hogwarts. So I read _Hogwarts a History_ to get more information on the school. I could be both Ravenclaw and Slytherin, but if I get a say in it, I'll go to Ravenclaw. Nothing against Slytherin, but I don't want to deal with the whole dark stigma that the house has. With my history people would think I was the next Dark Lord in training." Harry said.

"So you think you're cunning and ambitious enough to be considered for Slytherin house?" Blaize's mother asked.

"I always strive to be the best. I accept nothing but getting to the top and put all my energy in reaching that goal. But I also don't want to be seen for something people just assume. I want to be seen for my own accomplishments. Fame is fickle if you can't prove your worth and the media can tear people apart quickly. But going to the top the straight way will have people feel stepped on their toes and those that only concentrate on their studies don't build networks that they can benefit from later in life." Harry answered.

"Indeed an answer worthy of somebody with Slytherin qualities. It will be interesting to find out how your sorting went." She said.

Then Blaize was finished with his robes.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Potter. I'll see you at school." Blaize said, holding out his hand.

Harry shook it.

"Likewise, Zabini." He answered.

* * *

Blaize and his mother left the store. Outside Elladora Zabini turned to her son.

"That was a good display of proper pureblood behaviour, Blaize. Try to stay in his good books. He'll go far with his take on things. If he is anything like his father he will attract many people with his charisma and as he also got his mother's catching eyes, he will be someone the girls will fall over in a few years' time. Having someone like him as an acquaintance or even a friend is always beneficial, even if he is a halfblood. At least James married a powerful and very smart muggleborn and not one of the plain ones." She said.

"Yes, mother. I intend to keep a respectful and friendly relation with him. I'm a bit fascinated how mature he appears. He really thought his future plans through. Not like many others I met so far." Blaize answered.

"Indeed. I guess you're talking about Draco?" Elladora asked.

"Among others. But he is a good example. He only uses his father's influence and wealth to reach his goals, that's not very cunning and ambitious. While he reaches his goals that way, if anything ever happened to Lucius, he wouldn't have an alternative plan. With Potter I had the impression he had already thought of several ways to reach his goals and that he could quickly adapt if one plan didn't work out. I'll observe how he develops over the years."

* * *

Harry's next stop, after ordering some casual wear robes for everyday outside of classes and a good amount of high quality pants in dark colours, silk dress shirts in white, black, green, blue and grey, two warm coats in black and dark green and a lighter jacket in beige for spring and autumn, was the cauldron shop where he got two pewter cauldrons. One as a spare or in case he wanted to brew two different potions at a time. He looked at the telescopes but decided he would get one in the muggle world. The ones here, even if they were charmed, were less powerful than even a good quality standard student telescope for muggle students. He hadn't been interested in Astronomy so far, which meant he wanted to have the best possible equipment. He would forego a telescope with electric features, as the magic of Hogwarts would interfere with it, but that wouldn't be a problem. They were just coming up anyway. He got a nice set of brass scales as well.

He asked an employee at the shop that sold parchment, ink and quills, how long a quill normally lasted, how much parchment an average student needed over a year and how much ink. He got two packages of parchment, six bottles of ink, one was a colour changing kind, which Harry liked, ten quills, two were spares and for training his writing skills, he fully intended to get a fountain pen and notebooks for each subject in muggle London for his own notes and loose papers for rough drafts, no need to waste expensive parchment after all, and only use the quill for official assignments.

They then went to an apothecary Harry had seen in one of the side alleys which was much better structured and cleaner than the one in Diagon Alley itself. This Apothecary was smaller and had slightly higher prices, but Hagrid had also told him that Professor Snape, the Potions teacher at Hogwarts always ordered his personal ingredients here. The quality of the ingredients was higher and made for better results in brewing. The owner of the apothecary was a witch that was working on her mastery in potions. She was very helpful and additionally to the standard ingredients for first year students, Harry got two books. One on brewing techniques and colour schemes in potions and one on the 1000 most common ingredients in potions. The book listed their properties, their uses with some examples for potions, their reactions with other ingredients and also had warnings for what not to do with them to avoid accidents.

The witch told them she wished that these two books would be made mandatory reading material for Hogwarts students, but the Board of Governors didn't think it necessary. She also informed him that Professor Snape advised all the new Slytherins to get these books. Next to the ingredients Harry got a set of crystal vials that were spelled to be unbreakable if they fell down, which happened more often than one thought, the witch told them. She handed Harry a package with the correctly stored ingredients and one with the safely stored vials and told him they would be perfectly stored like they were until he needed them at Hogwarts.

Then Harry had a little buying spree at Flourish and Blotts. He didn't only buy the books on the list, but also a bit additional reading material on the subjects he would have this year. He got two books on Transfiguration, one on Herbology, two on Defence Against the Dark Arts, one on Charms, he left the Astronomy books behind as he knew the ones in the muggle world were more extensive in their information, he already had some history books, so he only got the listed book and he got himself books on Ancient Runes and Arithmancy. He wanted to get an idea what the subjects were about before he made his decision at the end of second year which subjects he would take. Then he got a book with all the laws in the British magical world, the self-updating version, one book about the ICW and their laws, a book with low level curses, a book about advanced potions and one about rituals.

The employee knew Harry by now and just smiled at the amount of books he had bought again. If that boy wouldn't become a Ravenclaw, he didn't know. All Harry's purchases were stored in his trunk, which made for much easier transport.

* * *

**Okay, I know that many of you hoped for a different magical school, but I hope you will still like what I make out of the Hogwarts time. It will definitely be different from normal canon. And to be realistic, which normal school would allow any student to bring in mysterious tutors? Especially one that already got a scholarship and therefore didn't have to pay like his peers? So it was either Hogwarts or another magical school from the beginning.**


	6. A Special Wand

**A Special Wand**

Now only one thing remained, Harry's wand. He was excited to get his own wand. Hagrid led Harry to Ollivander, the best wandmaker if you believed Hagrid. When they entered the shop, for some reason the back of Harry's neck prickled. The dust and the silence in the small shop were eerie.

"Good afternoon." Said a soft voice.

Harry was taken by surprise. He normally noticed people coming close to him. But this man, he didn't notice at all. The man was old; his eyes shining like moons through the gloom of his shop.

"Hello." Harry said.

"Ah, yes, I was wondering when I would see you, Mr Potter." He said, not making it sound like a question at all. "You have your mother's eyes. It seems like yesterday that she came in here to buy her first wand. Ten and a quarter inches long, swishy, made of willow. Nice for charms work."

Mr Ollivander moved closer to Harry. Those eyes were a bit creepy.

"Your father, on the other hand, favoured a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable. A little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I said your father favoured it – it's really the wand that chooses the wizard." He said.

"That sounds like wands have their own personalities, Mr Ollivander. How is that possible?" Harry asked.

"Ah, you see, no two wands are the same. When I make wands, I use mainly three core materials, dragon heartstrings, unicorn hair and phoenix feathers. Now no unicorn is like the other, the same with phoenixes and dragons. It also depends on the wood. Some woods are more temperamental than others and some don't like certain personality traits in a wizard and will refuse to work for him. And of course you will never get as good results with another wand as your own. Wandlore is a very deep branch of magic." Then he seemed to notice Hagrid.

"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid, how nice to see you again. Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?" he asked.

"It was, sir, yes." Hagrid said.

"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" Said Mr Ollivander suddenly stern.

"Er,- yes, they did, sir, but I still have the pieces." He added brightly.

"But you don't _use_ them?" Said Mr Ollivander sharply.

"Oh no, sir." Hagrid said hastily and hid his pink umbrella behind him.

'Guess I know now why he uses the umbrella to tip the stone.' Harry thought finding this amusing.

He pushed a strand of hair that had fallen in his eyes up, shortly revealing the healing scar. Mr Ollivander noticed and concentrated on him again.

"Ah, yes, that's where…" He said, looking at the scar. "I'm sorry to say that I was the one who sold the wand that did that. Thirteen and a half inches. Yew. Powerful wand, very powerful, and in the wrong hands … Well, if I'd known what that wand was going to do in the world." He trailed off on thoughts.

"Nonetheless, we need to find you your first wand, Mr Potter. Which one is your wand arm?" Ollivander asked.

"I'm right handed." Harry said.

"Very well, hold your arm out." Ollivander said and started taking measurements.

Harry had the impression that all the proportions of his body were measured by the tape measure, which worked on its own. When Ollivander thought he had enough information, he went into the shelves and got one wand after the other. Harry tried each wand he was given, but none seemed to work for him. He didn't really know what Mr Ollivander was looking for.

"Ah, a tricky customer, but don't worry, somewhere here there will be the right wand for you." Ollivander assured Harry.

Hagrid had sat down on a stool in a corner, waiting until Harry found his wand. After nearly an hour, Ollivander was bringing out the wands he had dubbed special combinations. Harry tried them all.

"Hm, try this one, holly and phoenix feather, nice and supple." He said, obviously tense if this could be the right wand.

Harry felt something, but it wasn't completely right.

"This one has a reaction I could feel, but it feels a bit off." Harry said.

Ollivander placed the wand to the side and got more boxes with wands for Harry to try. But even after two more hours, Harry was now really exhausted and annoyed; he didn't get a better reaction than with the wand Ollivander had separated.

"Hm, curious, very curious. I wonder. Mr Potter, do you by any chance have a familiar?" He asked. "You have now tried all the wands I have in my shop and only this one seems to respond to you. It is rare for a wizard to have to get a customized wand, but in some cases if a wizard has a rare magical animal as his familiar it can happen." Ollivander explained.

"Yes, I do. My familiar is a moon owl." Harry said.

"A moon owl, those are incredibly rare indeed!" Ollivander exclaimed astonished. "With all the conditions that have to be met for one to be born and then to come into her full powers. Mysterious birds that, while pure, are always changing their mood, just like the moon. Always female as well. I think to get you a fitting wand; we would have to see if a feather of your familiar would balance out this wand that seems to have some connection to you." Ollivander said.

Harry nodded and went outside. He concentrated and soon Hedwig flew down to him and landed on his arm. Her plumage had got even more silver now than it had been two days ago. Harry stroked her feathers.

"I need your help Hedwig. Mr Ollivander says that to find a wand for me, I'd need one of your feathers to balance out the only wand that responded somewhat to me. Would you mind donating one of your feathers for my wand, Hedwig?" Harry asked.

Hedwig hooted, shook herself and a single silver feather fell from her plumage.

"Thank you very much, Hedwig." Harry said and offered her one of the owl treats he always carried around with him in case he got mail. She happily accepted the treat.

Harry took the feather.

"Do you want to see how the wand will be made or would you prefer to fly around outside?" Harry asked her.

The hoot he got told him that she wanted to stay with him. Harry let her take place on his shoulder and went back inside. Mr Ollivander's eyes went wide seeing the owl.

"Really an incredible specimen your familiar. I've only ever seen a moon owl once in my life and that was at night when she flew over my head when I was out in a forest to collect wood for a wand from a tree that needs to be harvested under the full moon. Let's see if we can get this wand balanced out for you now." He said, taking the silver feather reverently.

He took both the wand and the feather and placed them on a workbench in the back of the shop. Harry could watch, but Hagrid was too big to get there. Ollivander swished his wand over the wand on the workbench in a complicated matter and it enlarged. At the handle an opening appeared and Ollivander carefully took out a red and gold feather. Harry recognized the feeling he got from the feather.

"Is that feather by any chance from Fawkes, the phoenix familiar of Professor Dumbledore?" He asked Ollivander.

"Indeed it is. You've met the headmaster's familiar then?" Ollivander asked.

"Yes, when I was at St. Mungo's and the healers found out something troubling with a splint that had been stuck in my scar for ten years since the attack on my parents' home, he healed the wound on my scar with his tears." Harry confirmed.

"Interesting, very interesting." Ollivander commented. "A lesser bond to a phoenix and a strong bond to a moon owl. We indeed can expect great things from you Mr Potter. Great things indeed." He said, returning to his work. He jabbed each feather with his wand and dripped a clear substance on both feathers, making them glow shortly.

"Tears of happiness of a fairy, a good binder for the feathers." He said absentmindedly.

Then he swished his wand again and the two feathers intertwined. He took the still enlarged wooden part of the wand and levitated the feathers inside. Then he moved his wand in a circle and the wand shrank back to its original size and the opening was no more.

"Try it now, Mr Potter." Ollivander said.

Harry waved the wand and had a fantastic feeling flowing threw him. Like a cooling breeze on a warm summer day. From the tip of his wand silver and blue sparks appeared, slowly falling down.

"Yes, yes that did the trick. A remarkable wand, Mr Potter. I was curious who would buy that specific wand, you see, as it was before; it was the brother to the wand that gave you that scar, yes a powerful wand, but now, this wand is absolutely unique. To require a wand with more than one core component means you'll become a very powerful wizard." Ollivander said.

Harry was glad that Hagrid didn't hear about the connection his wand had with Voldemort. It wouldn't do him any favours to have such a connection. If people knew they could get stupid ideas. They went back to the front and Harry happily told Hagrid that he now had his wand. He paid Ollivander eleven galleons for the wand and then left the shop with Hagrid.

* * *

At Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore sat in his office behind his desk reading a letter Ollivander the wandmaker had written him. The second wand had been sold to Harry Potter, but instead of simply choosing the boy, the wand had needed to be adjusted with the feather of Harry's familiar, a moon owl. This was indeed very fascinating. He had never before heard of a wand having to be adjusted. And for Harry to have won the allegiance of a moon owl was unheard of in a wizard of his age. Those owls were some of the most mysterious magical creatures that were categorized as light. Due to their rareness there weren't many documents handed down in time about their kind. The only thing that was known was that they needed to find a witch or wizard to create a familiar bond with before they reached a certain age. Nobody knew though how old that was.

Like phoenixes they had certain demands to their human partner. They never accepted those that had done evil deeds. Their powers were also mostly unknown. Some scripts spoke of them having the powers of the moon, others said they had healing powers like phoenixes, but in a different way. Nobody knew anything definite. The last recorded bonded moon owl dated back in 1705. There had been sightings of others, probably younger ones after that, but they obviously had turned into snowy owls after not finding a worthy witch or wizard. There were assumptions that the number of owls born as moon owls was about one in ten thousand owls. And only snowy owls could sire a moon owl. Perhaps because the heritage was in their genes. No one had ever been able to breed moon owls, they never hatched in captivity. It would be a great chance to study the habits of a bonded moon owl when Harry came to Hogwarts. He was glad that the boy had decided to accept his place here. He also knew that he would have to stay honest with Harry. Otherwise he would never win his trust.

* * *

On his birthday Harry woke up to bright sunshine and a small cake on his table in his room. There was a card wishing him a happy birthday from the crew of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry smiled. That was his first birthday cake. In the years prior the Dursleys had always ignored his birthday and as it was during the holidays, he hadn't been able to celebrate with his team-mates from the football team. He had got some cards from them, but never a cake. This one was made of yellow dough on the bottom, a layer of whipped cream with strawberries on top of it and on top it was sprinkled with chocolate chips. Harry took the fork he had got with the small round cake and tried a bit. It was delicious. The dough was vanilla flavoured he noticed and the cream sweet which went well with the still slightly sour strawberries. Harry enjoyed the cake and then went to take a shower.

Once he was done, he combed his wet hair, this was the only way his hair looked at least somewhat controlled. He knew in the afternoon his untameable hair would have won the fight against any attempt to get it in order, but if it at least held until his appointment was over, he would be satisfied. He donned a pair of black dress pants, the green silk shirt, black dress shoes and took a black robe to finish his outfit. He left his room and went down to eat breakfast. When he reached the pub, Tom smiled.

"Happy birthday, Harry." He said.

Harry felt very good to hear these words on his birthday and not only read them.

"Thanks, Tom. Can I have blueberry pancakes, chocolate milk and whip cream?" Harry asked.

"Sure, you're the birthday boy after all. When do you have your appointment today?" Tom asked.

"At ten. I don't know how long it'll take." Harry said when he sat down.

"Ah, take your time to get the details worked out. Always pays off in the long run." Tom replied.

"I will, thanks for the advice." Harry said.

"You're welcome, Harry." Tom said.

A little later the pancakes sat before Harry, freshly baked with a pot of cold chocolate milk and a bowl of whip cream. Harry started eating his breakfast, only a little bit filled from his birthday cake. He finished his meal and then walked towards the back door to get to Diagon Alley. Today Hagrid didn't have time to come in the morning, he had promised he would come by in the afternoon, but he knew the way to Gringotts and Tom knew where he was. He would start looking for him if he didn't return after a certain period of time. He tapped the stone that was the trigger three times with his wand and the archway opened for him. He looked around a bit and noticed that more people with children were now filling the alley. Obviously it was the time of year where the majority of families got the Hogwarts supplies.

* * *

Harry reached Gringotts and walked up to the teller with the shortest line. He briefly looked at the nameplate on the counter.

"Good morning, teller Gornuk. I'm here for my ten o'clock appointment with my account manager Corpnik." Harry said politely.

"Ah yes, Mr Potter. Please follow me." Gornuk said and led Harry through some corridors until they reached the door to an office. The door was made of polished oak wood and a golden plate was attached to it. "Wait a moment, Mr Potter." Gornuk said, knocked and entered the office. He came out shortly after. "Corpnik will now meet you."

"Thank you, Gornuk." Harry said and strode into the office in confident strides.

"Greetings, Mr Potter, may your business be profitable and your enemies cover at your feet." Corpnik greeted him.

"Greetings to you too, Corpnik, may your business always bring profit and your enemies not even know how they were defeated." Harry returned nodding his head towards the goblin.

"I see you have informed yourself about some of our customs. What did you want to discuss with me today?" Corpnik asked.

"First, please call me Harry; if we want to work on a profitable base for both of us, we need to have a basis of trust, Corpnik. Second, I would like to know what transactions there have been in the Potter accounts. I already know that my former guardians, my mother's muggle sister and her husband, embezzled the funds that they were given for my care. They only spent the bare minimum that couldn't be avoided on me. I want those funds back. How you do it, I don't care, but I know that the goblins always catch thieves. I also would like to know the advantages of getting a ledger for my vaults compared to the quarterly statements. While we are at the topic of embezzlement, do I get monies from those people using my name in their books and for their products? If not, I want that changed. They can either give me my share of the profits or pay a hefty fine for using my name without permission. And if you can, I'd like to get those Harry Potter books that Lockhart author wrote relabelled as fiction.

"Next are the current investments for my family. I'd like to see the profits those investments made over the last ten years and possibly adjust them. If you have suggestions for profitable investments that you couldn't realize until now because you need the permission of the owner of the vault to make them, I'd also like to hear your reasons for the investment plan. I want to see my parent's will, I know the original is always kept at Gringotts and the Ministry holds a copy. And lastly, I want to discuss with you the concept of introducing a credit card to the wizarding world. I'd gladly tell you everything I know about the system in the muggle world if we can come to an agreement about the profit-sharing." Harry listed his intentions for the meeting.

"Well structured and to the point, Harry. I like seeing a wizard who knows what he wants and what he is talking about. Especially someone as young as you are. Very well, let's start with some explanations. The ledger is a detailed statement of all possessions your family keeps at Gringotts and has outside in investments, real estates and living property. It is constantly updated which means you always can see how much you own. The monthly statements only contain the contents of your vaults in galleons, sickles and knuts. Objects are only listed in their overall number, not their kind.

"We will of course take care of recovering the money that was embezzled from you with interest. We are connected to the muggle banking system through a dummy bank that only exists in name. The people that use your name are separated in two groups. There is one manufacturer who produces toys that has organized that eight per cent of the profits are transferred to your trust vault for the usage of your name to advertise his products. Romanio Lockhart didn't do that and I'll gladly put one of Gringotts' barristers on the case.

"Your family investments mainly date back to 1978; that was the last time your grandfather Charlus changed the portfolio. Your father James was too busy with his schooling first and then the war against the Dark Lord to really take interest in investments. The investments are in both the wizarding and muggle worlds. I think your mother inspired your grandfather to invest the equivalent of ten thousand galleons in a company that was developing communication devices that work similar to the phones the muggles use at their homes but could be carried around easily. By now it has become a very profitable company and the original investment that got your grandfather twenty per cent of the shares of the company now has a value of sixty thousand, nine hundred and five galleons.

"The other investments are in the wizarding world. You hold five per cent of Flourish and Blott's, twelve per cent of Madam Malkin's, thirteen per cent of Quality for Quidditch, twenty one per cent of the Daily Prophet, fifty one per cent of a magical creature farm in Norfolk, sixty three per cent in a vineyard with attached winery in southern France, and lastly you hold eighty nine per cent in a professional Quidditch training facility in Canada. All those investments are doing well, especially the Quidditch facility. The vineyard had a bad harvest three years ago, but they recovered the following year by taking more protective measures against insects and frost in spring. I have three more businesses that would be interesting to invest in.

"First you should know that your grandfather, and his father before him, always used the same investment strategy. He looked for young enterprises that promised to become successful in a few years' time. He sponsored the founders of the enterprises and got shares in exchange. He always kept involved in the business ideas and offered advice if necessary. The last part will probably be a bit early for you, but once you finished school I'm sure you would also do well with this strategy. All the investments you hold currently were created the way I described. I have to say your great-grandfather Henry proved a really good nose when he bought the run-down Quidditch facility from the founder. He was a very enthusiastic wizard who loved playing Quidditch, but he had no idea of how to run a business.

"

Your great-grandfather took over the management for three years and hired competent people to run it full-time. Trainers for the practical part and managers for the economic part. After five years the facility was profitable and after ten years it had turned into a cash cow to use the muggle term. The eleven per cent that you don't own are split among senior workers of the facility that got them for their commitment to the facility in the beginning when times were hard and they had a lot of convincing to do to get professional teams to use their training facilities during the year and to get camps for children and teenagers set up." Corpnik described how the most successful investment of the Potters had started off.

Harry was very impressed how good at doing business his great-grandfather had been. He hoped he would be able to follow in his footsteps. Well, he had one idea already. He would see how it worked out.

"The three investments I want to suggest are an apothecary in a side alley of Diagon Alley whose owner is a very competent witch and on her way to gain her mastery in potions. At the moment she only sells ingredients of high quality and books that are a key to becoming a successful brewer. There is a reason why Slytherin house produces the best brewers besides their head of house being a bit biased against the other houses after all. She presented us her business plan and I checked it thoroughly. As soon as she has her mastery, which will probably be in about two years at most, she will start selling potions that the normal witch or wizard needs regularly, like cough potions, pepper-up potions, headache potions and the like in her shop. Those potions, while high quality, will be reasonably priced. At the side she will take special orders that are only needed for special uses and prepare them for much higher prices. As good Potions Masters are really rare in Great Britain she won't have to fear much competition in that field and as an addition to her normal range of products it works nicely I think.

"At the moment her shop is an insider tip. Most buy their equipment in Jugg's & Sligger, the big apothecary in Diagon Alley, but we estimate a shift of the customers to Miss Ranamis' shop of about twenty per cent over the next four years. If you agree I would invest six thousand galleons into her business, which would give you about thirty per cent of the shares." Corpnik closed his first presentation and looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry thought about what Corpnik had said. He thought back to the impression of the shop he had got when he had bought his ingredients there. It had a very professional outlook and Miss Ranamis had been really helpful with pointing out the two additional books that would help greatly in developing his skills in brewing. If she reached her mastery and was allowed to branch out from selling simple ingredients she would manage to make good profit. On top there was an empty store next door, which allowed for expansion if everything worked out like it should. So the investment wouldn't be limited to the current storage space the shop had.

"I know the shop and have met Miss Ranamis when I got my potions supplies. Rubeus Hagrid showed me the shop. I liked the professionalism she showed and the ratio between quality and prices of her goods. I agree with that investment, especially as the location still holds potential for expansion once she has her mastery." Harry said.

Corpnik noted the agreement.

He presented him two other ideas, one Harry approved of, the other he didn't. While that enterprise might have been profitable, he didn't like their idea of having squibs do the work for low wages while the owners mostly did the marketing. In his experience enterprises that were led by the founders who directly worked to build up their business were more successful than those where the owners just were the face of the enterprise and others made the important decisions as the owners didn't know their own products. Corpnik noted both. Then he took out the will of his parents.

It was more or less a standard will. In case one of them died the other one would get custody of him, in case both died there was a list of people who could take custody. The top five he knew were not available as Sirius Black was in Azkaban, Remus Lupin was a werewolf and Peter Pettigrew was either dead or the traitor. Next were Frank and Alice Longbottom, who had been tortured to insanity. The last one he didn't know about, he hadn't heard yet about somebody called Dorcas Meadowes.

He was to inherit all of their possessions, and be given the option of emancipation at fourteen if he so chose. Well, that was interesting. Even if he didn't get along with his future guardian he could get out once he turned fourteen. As soon as he turned sixteen he would inherit his father's title of Earl of Ceredigion, which was honoured in both the muggle and wizarding world.

He put the will down and took a few calming breaths. He had been right; they had tried to make sure he was well taken care of. But it seemed things didn't work out like they planned and Dumbledore put his survival higher than his happiness or simply ran out of options once things had calmed down. His best chance would probably be to see if Sirius Black was guilty or not. Even if his parents had trusted Remus Lupin, there was a huge prejudice against werewolves. He couldn't see him getting custody. Perhaps he should make contact. He would be a fountain of stories about his father and perhaps a few about his mother.

"Considering the investments and the gold in both your family and trust vault, you have a net value of 5.742.307 galleons. About 800.000 are in galleons, sickles and knuts. On average the profits the investments make each year come up to about 40.000 galleons. Ninety per cent are reinvested in the businesses; the remaining ten per cent go to the family vault. You are not the wealthiest wizard in Great Britain but really well to do. The real estates have a value of totally 2.530.500 galleons, with the house in Godric's Hollow being not sellable as it was made a national monument. Potter Manor in Ceredigion needs a few repairs and a power-boost from you for the wards, then it is liveable. The house in Spain is alright and is rented out for wizarding tourists regularly and makes a profit every year. The same holds true for the houses in France and Italy. The hotel in the Dominican Republic is doing well as well. The flat in New York is rented out on a yearly base." Corpnik explained.

Harry nodded. He would have enough choices for a living place once he was of age. He would probably move into the Manor. What reason would somebody have to keep a manor and not live in it?

"Alright. That's all I need to know about my finances for now. I will take the ledger to keep updated. Now I think we need to discuss the possibilities a credit card system could offer your bank." Harry said.

"Yes, Griphook mentioned a few outlines and I'm very interested to learn how that system works. We have a standard policy regarding profit-sharing. I will listen to your suggestion and if I think Gringotts could profit from taking over the system, you'll be given a share of five per cent of the profit." Corpnik said.

Harry grinned.

"Fifteen per cent." He demanded.

"Harry, five per cent is more than generous for you only delivering the idea." Corpnik said.

"I'm not only delivering the idea, I'm giving you the detailed working process of the system. The whole required equipment, the means how you can convince the shops to accept payment with the new credit card and even my name for marketing the product if you do it. I think fifteen per cent is more than generous of me." Harry said.

Corpnik was surprised. Normally wizards didn't bother bargaining with goblins, they thought it to be under their station. But Harry was not giving an inch. He had leeway in the negotiations from the board. Up to fifteen per cent he could accept. But he would try to get Harry down a bit. Oh how long had it been that he had the pleasure of a good bargain.

"Perhaps you are right, but I can't agree to that share. I don't know yet if what you are promising to deliver is worth it. Your offer to promote the credit card system has a certain value as the Potter name and your name especially have a great pull to people. I'll agree to eight per cent." Corpnik said.

"I'll give you an incentive to easier decide. I'll agree to ten per cent of the profit if you make less than five thousand galleons profit with the new system in the starting phase of six months after the marketing offence has started. You'll place an advertisement in the Daily Prophet and all other daily publications and send out pamphlets to all wizarding households that have accounts here at Gringotts. Additionally I'll get you the addresses of all the muggleborns that graduated in the last twenty years as they'll probably be your most probable customers. If you make more than five thousand galleons profit, I'll get my fifteen per cent." Harry said confidently.

Corpnik grinned. That was a deal the board would gladly accept. Less than they would at most have accepted in case the profit wasn't as high as they hoped and the limit if the system worked out well and then Harry had definitely earned his share. Generally new products needed a longer starting period than six months to become profitable, so the probability that they would make five thousand galleons profit was low. And having Harry Potter personally promote their product would make fantastic publicity.

"Deal." He said, holding out his hand for Harry to shake, which he did.

They then went over the standard contract that Gringotts made with their partners and Harry read it very carefully. He argued about a few passages with Corpnik which were altered to Harry's liking, the clause they had bargained about was inserted and then both of them signed in blood, making the contract magically binding for both sides. The contract glowed golden and two copies were produced. One was for Harry and one went directly to the goblin archives. The original Corpnik would take to the board and present the deal he had made with the young Potter heir.

"Okay, now I think it's your turn to give me the details." Corpnik said.

Harry nodded and opened the book bag he had from Flourish and Blotts and pulled a notebook out. He opened it and showed Corpnik the diagrams and explanations of the muggle credit card system, the fee the issuing bank got and what the shops got.

"In the muggle world a percentage that doesn't exceed a certain amount of money is added to the price for the bought goods. Normally three per cent. Like if you bought clothes for one hundred pounds you're charged one hundred and three pounds. Of the additional three pounds two pounds go to the bank, the other pound is for the shop. Now Gringotts operates in all European Countries, you have five branches in America, two in Canada, two in Australia and four spread over Asia." Harry surprised Corpnik with his accurate knowledge. "By my estimation the wizarding population of the world is about thirty million witches and wizards. Now if we assume of them forty per cent are children, eighteen million remain. Of those eighteen million Gringotts has probably about sixty per cent as customers, makes ten million eight hundred thousand. Now if only fifty per cent, meaning five million four hundred thousand, accept the credit card as a form of normal payment as it reduces the problems with carrying around great amounts of gold, can be made safe from abuse of others who might have access to the vault by keying it to your wand or blood, can be seen as a symbol of status in society, because you only give out those cards to those who can settle their bills and it makes paying faster, you have a great base to get the system accepted in the wizarding world. In the muggle world the creators of the system also noticed that many people don't look that closely to how much they buy if they pay with the card as they don't see the money corporeally before them.

"Now I'll use an easy example for an event that comes up every year in August. Shopping for school supplies. The average Hogwarts student needs to invest about fifty galleons for the starting equipment in basic form, about a hundred galleons if you prefer higher quality. In the following years the amount is reduced as things like a wand, a trunk and so on are already there. Hogwarts has about forty students that start this year, makes, if we settle for a middle amount of money that is spent on the children of seventy five galleons three thousand galleons would be spent. With two per cent profit for Gringotts that are already sixty galleons only for one year of students, only in Great Britain. Multiply that with the higher numbers of children in other countries and you see why I'm more than sure that you'll easily earn the five thousand galleons in six months." Harry stated.

"Now think five million customers, buying their supplies with credit cards all over the world, a system that the muggleborns are already used to from their parents. Even if they only spend one hundred galleons in six months, which they won't do but spend more, you'd earn two galleons from each of them, summing up at ten million galleons. Take away twenty per cent for maintenance and personnel and you still have eight million galleons left. I'm really sure I've earned my fifteen per cent." Harry said.

Corpnik couldn't help it but laugh loudly.

"You, Harry, could have been a goblin. That was one of the most devious acts anybody has pulled over me for some decades. I definitely underestimated you. Henry would have loved the way how you think. He was the most devious businessman I ever had the honour of knowing. Indeed, if we get it done the way you say and I don't see why not, we'll earn a lot of gold together. Do you have other ideas that are as profitable as this one?" He asked now very interested what else the boy could think of.

Honestly, the most he had expected to get was a vague idea of a muggle system how to pay easier. They would have had to investigate how to make it work in the wizarding world and that would have taken time. But with the information Harry had provided they would be able to start at once and set everything up, work out the magic to coordinate everything and then advertise the new product. Harry definitely had a lot of Henry Potter's skill in business deals. It would be very interesting to see the boy grow. There was so much potential that he could see.

"An extension to this once the system is established in society. Offer accounts for students of magical schools with an included credit card free of the percentile fee as long as they attend school. The card itself can be a fixed starting fee like five galleons. While you won't make much profit while the students are at school they'll be used to using the credit card for their purchases. And once they leave school the normal procedure starts and they won't think anything strange about it. You bind customers early on and to be honest, the students at Hogwarts mostly spend their money in Hogsmeade and not much more as there aren't many possibilities for it. If they spend fifty galleons a year while they are at school that's it normally and it includes the wealthier students. So you'd not get one galleon a year from each student, but much more once they graduate. But there still are the normal fees for the upkeep of the vaults. It's an investment in future profit." Harry said.

"A very interesting extension. Yes, I'm convinced we'll make much gold together in the future, Harry." Corpnik said contently. This boy was really valuable and he was his account manager, meaning he'd get a good bit of gold himself for getting the ideas that would bring Gringotts much gold in the future.

* * *

In the afternoon Harry was visited by Hagrid and he got a chocolate cake with green writing, which Hagrid had baked himself for Harry and a book on charms for brooms from him.

"Thought with how yer interested in learning an' Quidditch, you'd like it." He said.

"Thank you, Hagrid." Harry said happily. He wasn't really used to people giving him birthday presents.

Harry told Hagrid a bit about his appointment with Gringotts, Hagrid got a good laugh at hearing he had made Corpnik laugh out loud over the trick Harry had pulled, he told him about the cake he got in the morning from the Leaky Cauldron team and a few people he had watched when he went back from Gringotts.

"There was this one blond boy who seemed to have swallowed a lemon. But his father didn't seem to be any better. And they looked disdainfully at the students who looked like muggleborns to me." Harry said.

"Ah, could've been the Malfoys. Nasty business 'em. Lucius Malfoy is a big fish, has contacts to the Minister, but was thought ter have been with You-Know-Who. Bought himself free. Claimed ter have been under imperius. Don' know if that's true. He's nasty 'nough to have done it willingly. But he's got gold, so many don' dare crossing 'im. His son should be the age to start Hogwarts now." Hagrid said.

Harry nodded.

"Do you know anything about the Zabinis?" He asked.

"Ah, yes, Black Widow Elladora." Hagrid said. "She's been married six times now, but some'ow 'er husbands always die soon. Could have somethin' ter do with that after her firs' one died in an accident, with whom she'd had her son, she looked for rich old men. Couldn' handle the stress havin' a beautiful young wife many say. Others tell she's killed 'em, but nothin' could ever be proven." Hagrid told him. "Did you meet 'em?"

"Yes, when I got my robes at Madam Malkin's Blaize Zabini was also fitted for his. We talked a bit. I got the impression that while he was a bit arrogant, I'd get along with him well enough. He seems to be at least intelligent enough to not simply judge on rumours but to get more information about something." Harry said.

"Yes, that fits their personality. The Zabinis have been Slytherins for generations. But I didn' hear about them being dark. Still high stuck on believing in pureblood supremacy." Hagrid informed Harry.

Harry decided to ask a question that had bothered him for some time.

"Hagrid, would you be mad if I was sorted into Slytherin? I think I'll go to Ravenclaw, but some of my character traits fit Slytherin." Most of them actually, but he wouldn't actually admit that to anybody.

"Nah, Harry. I know you. Yer a good kid. And nobody with a moon owl as a familiar could ever go dark. Hedwig wouldn't allow it." He said.

Harry was relieved to hear that. While he normally didn't give much on the opinions of people, he didn't want to lose Hagrid's friendship. The gentle giant of a man had given up a lot of his time to look after him while he was staying here at the Leaky Cauldron and had been a great guide to learn his way around. While Harry had noticed that he was a bit biased against Slytherins he also seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about some families. He would have to find out what of the general talk was true and what exaggerated, but it was part of the complete picture.

Later Hagrid said good bye as he had an errand for Dumbledore to run at Gringotts.

* * *

**So that was the last chapter before the Hogwarts part starts. Did you like my idea of Harry outsmarting his goblin account manager? Till next time.**


	7. Beginning of a Journey

**Hi, I'm back with this story. The train ride to Hogwarts is up. Happy reading and thanks for all your reviews for the last chapters.**

* * *

**Beginning of a Journey**

Harry stood at the entrance of Kings Cross Station. His trunk was on a trolley to deceive the muggles. He could have just shrunk it and carried it in his pocket, but the guide had said it would be best if he looked like a normal muggle student on the way to his train to boarding school. Hedwig's stand was in the third compartment of his trunk, Hedwig would join him on the platform. She disliked being in a cage, so he had given her the options to meet him once he had crossed the barrier and reached the platform or fly to Hogwarts on her own. She had taken the first option. Harry had noticed over the last month that he more and more understood what she wanted to say with her hoots and behaviour. He guessed it was part of the familiar bond he had with her.

Harry was wearing clothes that could double as a school uniform in the muggle world. It was a relatively warm day, so he had forgone a jacket. He wore black pants, trainers, a dark blue pullover with his family crest on the left side of his chest and under the pullover the collar of his white polo-shirt could be seen. He had been shopping in muggle London two weeks before he started Hogwarts. He had exchanged five hundred galleons in pounds and went on a little shopping spree. He got a complete wardrobe including sportswear for him to continue his training. He also got some board games to pass time in the common room in the evening; he guessed there would be at least some students interested in playing as well. For the journey he had two card games. One simple double set for several games like poker, rummy and so on and one was a newer game called wizard fittingly. The description sounded interesting enough. Those card games together with a bottle of cooled pumpkin juice and a lunchbox were in a backpack on his back.

He walked up to the barrier between platforms nine and ten. He was glad the way how to reach the platform had been in the muggleborn guide as Hagrid, while he had given Harry the ticket for the train, had forgotten to explain that part. He didn't notice any others that were there, so he just walked a little faster, being a little nervous for being about to go through a wall. Then he reached the wall with his trolley and he closed his eyes, but nothing happened. When he opened his eyes again, he saw the platform where the red, steaming Hogwarts express was waiting for the students to board. He grinned. He would go to Hogwarts, the same school his parents had gone to. He looked up and saw Hedwig swooping down to him. He held out his arm for her to land.

"Hey, girl. Did you have a nice flight?" He asked and got a positive hoot.

Hedwig climbed on his shoulder while he looked around. There were a lot of people assembled already, even if the train wouldn't leave before eleven, which was still half an hour away. He took his trunk, tapped it with his wand and it shrunk to fit into his pocket again. He saw that most students were clothed in robes. He wondered how they got here without causing a stir with the muggles. Perhaps side-along apparition like Professor McGonagall had done with him on the way to St. Mungo's. He knew there wasn't a floo connection here as the coordination wouldn't be possible. He had asked Tom for that as it would have been the easiest way to get here from the Leaky Cauldron. Tom and his crew had made sure to pack him a nice lunchbox for the journey. He had really enjoyed his stay at the Leaky Cauldron. Sadly he hadn't managed to keep people from recognizing him for the whole time, so one evening at dinner many had greeted him after one man had heard Tom call him by his name and asked if he was Harry Potter.

He had had to shake a few hands, but Tom had prevented that it got too out of hand. After a while the regular patrons of the Cauldron had got used to him and Harry got to listen to some of their interesting stories. He had already resigned himself to the fact that something similar would happen once the students at Hogwarts found out his name during the sorting. Hagrid wouldn't tell him how the sorting went, it was part of the whole experience to not know it beforehand, but he said the students were called forth by name and then sorted while the rest of the school watched. Well, tonight he would find out. It couldn't be too bad. He listened to some bits of conversation that parents held with their children. Many wished them fun for the new year, some reminded them to study hard for their exams, one father told his son this would be his house's year for the Quidditch Cup. Owls all around hooted, he could hear toads croaking and some cats meowing.

He climbed into the train, intent on finding a compartment where some other first-years were in. He looked for some minutes, then he spotted a compartment where two girls and a boy were sitting in. They looked nice enough, so he knocked and opened the door.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" He asked.

"No, come in. We still have some free seats and the more the merrier." The blond girl said.

"Thanks." Harry answered and stepped inside.

"Where is your trunk?" The red haired girl asked.

"Shrunk in my pocket. I didn't think dragging it through the corridors would be smart if I could just use the shrinking feature." Harry explained.

"That's true. I wanted one of them, but we still had the old three compartment trunk from my uncle on the attic and it's still perfectly good to use for me. At least it is spelled feather-light." The brown haired boy said. "I'm Terry Boot by the way."

"I'm Hannah Abbott." The blond girl introduced herself.

"Susan Bones." The redhead said.

"I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you all." Harry said, getting the estimated reaction of shock. "Come on, I'm just an eleven year old kid like you. And if you read any of the books Romanio Lockhart wrote, forget them, none of the things he wrote are true. I grew up with my muggle aunt and didn't know of the magical world until I got my Hogwarts letter."

Terry laughed. "I told you so." He said addressing Susan who was blushing. "I have been trying to tell some of the girls that I know from growing up that there was no way any kid, not even the one that defeated You-Know-Who, could do some of the things in those books. That Lockhart just has a blooming fantasy."

"But why didn't it say that they were just made up stories?" Susan asked miffed.

"I don't know, but my barrister is on it. I don't like that my name is used without my consent and especially if people make up ridiculous stories about me. While I'm no slouch in what I learned at school and in sports, I doubt I could ever have tamed a rampaging Hippogriff with four. I only could walk and talk properly at that age. And stopping a flood by freezing the water with six? I didn't even have a wand until a bit over a month ago." Harry said scoffing.

Hedwig hooted agreeing with him.

"Oh yes, sorry. This stunning lady here is Hedwig, my familiar. She's a moon owl and a feather from her is part of my wand core." Harry said while Hedwig looked around smugly.

"She's really a moon owl?" Hannah asked awed.

"Yes. I felt a pull coming from Eeylops when I walked by with Hagrid, the gamekeeper of Hogwarts who was looking after me while I stayed in Diagon Alley until school started. I went in there and found her. I think she tested me when she stared into my eyes when I found her in a dark corner. I just couldn't look away. Then she flew down on my arm, nicked my finger and I felt my magic connecting to her. It was amazing. On the way back to the Leaky Cauldron Hagrid told me she was a moon owl." Harry told them.

"Wow. That's an even better story than those in the books." Susan said. "I mean, there hasn't been a moon owl that was bonded to a witch or wizard for centuries. Some people have seen one flying in the night, I know Auntie Amelia told me about having seen one when she had just started her career as an auror and had been on a stake out at a full moon night. She looked up information about the owl as she was sure to have seen silver feathers, but she never saw one again. It's seen as a sign of good luck to see a moon owl." She explained.

"Why did you stay in Diagon Alley and not with your muggle relatives?" Hannah asked.

"My relatives will have to defend themselves in court for several crimes against me. Let's just leave it at that." Harry said curtly.

The other three looked at each other, but realized that Harry didn't want to talk about it and dropped the subject.

"Did you all grow up in the wizarding world?" Harry asked.

"Susan and I did, Hannah grew up in both worlds." Terry said. "My dad is a barrister at law and works with two others in their law office. My mum is working as his secretary."

"I live with my aunt. My parents died in the war against You-Know-Who. She is the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry." Susan said.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Susan." Harry said.

"It's okay. Auntie Amelia is great and treats me like her own daughter. I still miss my parents, but at least I have Auntie." Susan assured him.

"My father works as a Herbologist for a nursery in Suffolk for magical plants that are used in potions. My mum is a muggleborn and as she didn't find a good job in the magical world, but my muggle grandparents have a successful chain of boutiques, she started working for them. First she was a shop-assistant, but she made her degree in design and management and is now responsible for half the boutiques my grandparents have and will take over the business once grandpa and grandma retire." Hannah told them.

"Good for her. Does it happen often that muggleborns don't find good jobs?" Harry asked.

"Sadly yes. There are many prejudices against them, especially at the Ministry. It depends on the department, but in most cases you only make career if you're at least halfblood and from an influential family. The Law Enforcement department generally only goes by skill; Aunt Amelia knows that all the heritage in the world doesn't help you in the field if you can't cast a proper shield charm. There are recruiting tests every year in summer to find the best candidates for the auror program and the magical patrol. It's sometimes funny to hear auntie rant about the incompetence of some applicants when she's at home." Susan told him.

"So what do qualified muggleborns do after graduation?" Harry asked thinking of his mother.

"Many start as trainees in bigger companies to learn a craft. The main problem are governmental institutions and businesses that are owned by pureblood supremacists, which are a lot. But many halfbloods and purebloods that don't care who works for them as long as they do good work also have businesses. It all depends on which area you want to work in. I know of an enchanter that is muggleborn and who is said to be the best in the craft. And dad said since the war ended, things have got better." Terry added.

Harry nodded. Hedwig flew to the luggage rack and took a position of observation. Harry took out his trunk and placed it in the rack and tapped it to enlarge it again, in case he wanted to get some things. He had a smaller backpack with his things for the journey which he put under his seat.

"What houses do you think you'll get sorted in?" Terry asked.

"I guess Hufflepuff. Most of my family on dad's side was there, though mum was a Gryffindor." Susan said.

"I think I'll also go to Hufflepuff. Both my parents were there, though Gryffindor could also be possible for me." Hannah said. "My mum sometimes scolded me that I was as reckless as a Gryffindor."

"I'm relatively sure I'll go to Ravenclaw. I love learning new things and I don't think I'd fit in with the Gryffindors." Terry said.

"Probably Ravenclaw for me, but Slytherin is also possible. I'm pretty ambitious." Harry said.

"Really? I'd never have thought you to go to any house other than Gryffindor, but then again, if all the stories were just made up. But I can't really see you as an evil Slytherin." Hannah said.

"I think those superstitions are stupid. I mean, come on. If all Slytherins were evil, they'd have closed up the house decades ago. And nobody can tell me eleven year old kids are evil monsters just because they get sorted into a certain house. I mean from what I read about the traits the house favours it's nothing inherently bad. Cunning and ambition are needed to get to the top. It's what you do with those traits that makes you who you are. If not most fanatics that supported Voldemort had come from Slytherin this wouldn't even be a point." Harry said, getting gasps from the other three when he used Voldemort's name.

"You said his name." Hannah squeaked.

"And? It's just a name. By calling him those ridiculous pseudonyms you only give him more power. I can accept that people feared him, but with the way they don't even dare to say his name, they only make him more fearsome than he was. He was human, no god, no supernatural being, just a very powerful wizard. And the name I think is made up by the way, I mean seriously, Lord 'Flight from Death'?" Harry asked snickering.

"Flight from death?" Susan asked astonished leaning forward in her seat.

"Yes, Voldemort is French and translates to flight from death. You can't tell me anybody would name their child like that and there were no records on any child born with that name. I heard he claimed to be the heir of Slytherin and Hagrid told me he was at Hogwarts years ago. Well, you'd have to look for a family tree of the Slytherin line to be sure, but I don't think there are many descendants left. Otherwise there'd be more parseltongues." Harry explained. "So if you assumed his age to be around fifty to sixty when he was at the height of his power, you'd have to look back to the Hogwarts graduates in the late thirties to the late forties to find him. But from the history books he appeared practically from nowhere, meaning, he can't have used his true name, or people would have recognized him."

"That makes sense. So he made up a name for himself to make himself look more mysterious and frightening?" Hannah asked tipping her chin with her finger.

"That's my theory. Humans tend to fear things they don't understand and they can only understand things if they analyse them. So as they couldn't find any information on the roots and past of Voldemort, added by his ruthlessness and that of his followers, irrational fear spread. People made Voldemort worse than he was. No doubt he was one of the worst dark lords in history, but there were others that were stronger than him, but still fell. The thing Voldemort did in perfection was to use the fear of people. Why else would groups of ten to twenty Death Eaters have been able to overwhelm groups of hundreds? If only all of those that were in the raids had stood up and faced them, things wouldn't have gone down the drain like they did." Harry said. "Greater numbers do work against strong opponents. And not all the Death Eaters were at Voldemort's level. Some were close, but not nearly all of them."

The others nodded lost in thought. Having it explained like this, it made sense.

"I think we talked enough about serious issues, anybody wants to play a game of cards?" Harry asked.

"Sure. Exploding Snap?" Susan asked.

"Er – I don't know that game but I'd like to learn it." Harry said.

"What games do you know?" Terry asked.

"Well, my old football team liked to play rummy after theory sessions. But I also have learned to play poker and I found an interesting looking game in a muggle toyshop called wizard." Harry said.

"Okay, we have enough time until we get to Hogwarts to play different games. I think we'll start with explaining exploding snap to you." Susan said and started to explain the game while Terry got out his deck of cards.

* * *

The four had fun playing card games. When the lady with the trolley came by, Harry bought himself some chocolate frogs and two liquorice wands. He had enough food in his lunchbox. A few hours into the journey a blond, round-faced boy came to their compartment. He looked tearful.

"Sorry, have any of you perhaps seen a toad?" He asked.

"Hi, Neville, no we didn't. I didn't know you had a toad." Terry said.

"Oh, hi Terry, hi Susan, hi Hannah it was, right?" Hannah nodded.

Neville turned to Harry.

"I'm Neville Longbottom." He introduced himself. Harry remembered his name and what had happened to his parents.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you, Neville." Harry said.

"R-Really? Nice to meet you too." Neville got out.

"Don't worry, I normally don't bite." Harry joked. "So your toad escaped?"

"Yes, he keeps getting away from me." He wailed.

"Have you tried asking an older student to summon him for you?" Harry asked.

The others looked dumbfounded at him.

"What? I read about that in a muggleborn guide as an example what magic can do." Harry said defensibly.

"I didn't know there were those examples in there, but you're right, my mum often uses that charm to find things she lost." Terry said.

"Why would you have a guide for muggleborns? Your parents were a witch and a wizard." Neville wondered.

"I'm muggle raised. Don't want to talk about it." Harry deflected.

"Oh, okay, thanks for the advice." Neville said and left looking for an older student.

"Typical Neville. He's a nice guy, a bit forgetful and clumsy and his family is a bit harsh at times. Thought he was a squib for a long time, didn't tell nice things about him." Susan said.

"Yes and his grandmother is so intimidating. Can't be easy to please her." Terry added.

A little later a bushy haired girl appeared at the door.

"Did anybody see a toad? A boy named Neville lost his?" She asked in a bossy sort of voice.

"No, we already told Neville and advised him to ask an older student to summon it." Harry answered and placed his card on the staple.

"Is that a wizarding game?" She asked interested.

"No, a muggle game that is named 'Wizard' funnily." Hannah said, placing her own card.

"So, you're muggleborn too?" Hermione asked Harry.

"No, my parents were a witch and a wizard, but I was raised by my muggle aunt." Harry answered.

"Well, my parents are dentists and it was such a surprise when my letter came. First they thought it was a joke, but then Professor McGonagall came and explained it all to us. I'm so excited to go to Hogwarts. It's said to be the best school for magic. I'm Hermione Granger by the way." She said very fast.

"You should breath occasionally while talking." Hannah commented.

Hermione blushed. Obviously that wasn't new for her to be told.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit nervous." She admitted.

"No problem. Just try to slow down while speaking and you'll be fine. I think it's our turn for introductions now. That's Terry Boot, Susan Bones, Harry Potter and I'm Hannah Abbott." Hannah said.

Hermione looked at Harry.

"Are you really the Harry Potter? I've read all about you. You're in _Modern Magical History, The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _and_ Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century_." She said.

"Yes, I know, but don't believe everything that's written in books about me, especially not the Lockhart books. They're all made up. And from what I saw in _Modern Magical History_ they're only guessing what happened. The only facts they had in there are that Voldemort came to our house at Halloween in 1981, killed my parents but couldn't kill me. Everything else is speculation." Harry said.

"But … " Hermione started.

"Listen, Granger, nobody but Voldemort, my parents and I were there that could probably tell what happened. I was just fifteen months old and only remember a little bit and I was never interviewed. I don't believe it was a power I had, I rather think my mother did something to protect me. Perhaps I'm wrong, but Professor Dumbledore told me something similar when I was in St. Mungo's. My mother's sacrifice activated ancient magic that saved me if his guess is right. Books are only a source of probable information as long as things haven't been proven. You can take the spells in _The Standard Book of Spells_ as fact. They have been tested and proven to work like they should if you perform the spell right. But things like history are trickier. _A History of Magic _was written by a renowned historian, so most of the facts should be correct, but history is also always written by the winners and therefore documents from that time are written in the perspective of the ones that won the wars.

"There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn all you can and be the best you can be. I'd be a hypocrite if I told you otherwise. But take everything with a grain of salt and get your information straight and more importantly complete. And think about it, you said you read everything about me, but does that mean you know me? No, it only means you know about me. If you really want to know people you have to talk to them and get to know them." Harry patiently explained.

Hermione looked at him in surprise. She had never thought about it that way. People had always mocked her and she had taken refuge in books, but with how Harry explained it, perhaps she should try to change that at Hogwarts. Perhaps she could finally get some friends that way.

"You're right, Potter. I think I was too concerned with my grades that I forgot other things." She admitted.

"The first step is always to realize a mistake to be able to change something." Susan said. "That's a favourite saying of my aunt."

"Yes, right next to 'Be who you are and don't try to be who you think others want you to be or you'll fail for sure'." Hannah added.

"Ah, a wise woman your aunt." Terry agreed.

"Thanks, you've given me something to think about. I'll go back and see if Neville got his toad back yet." Hermione said and left.

When the door of the compartment had closed, Terry turned to Harry.

"Why did you give her such an extensive lecture, Harry?" He asked.

"I had the impression she'd have tried to completely rely on the information in books. And that would have made her an outsider soon. Being lonely at school isn't nice, so I thought I needed to give her a push in the right direction." Harry answered.

The resumed their game. Then the door was opened again without so much as a knock.

"They say all down the train that Harry Potter is in this compartment, so it's you?" A blond boy asked.

Harry thought he had seen him in Diagon Alley. What did Hagrid say his name was? Malfoy?

"Yes, and you are?" He asked.

Behind the boy two bigger boys stood. They were thickset and looked very mean.

'Great a spoiled brat with his bodyguards.' Harry thought. 'Well, time to show him why his approach is complete rubbish.'

"Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle." He pointed at his bodyguards carelessly. "And I'm Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." He said.

"Your family has a long Slytherin tradition and owns that plantation in Yorkshire for acromantula silk, doesn't it?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. You seem to be well informed, Potter. If you want to make friends with the right people, I could help you there." Draco offered, holding out his hand.

"That's a very generous offer and I would be an idiot to not accept to be on friendly terms with those whose families are successful in our society, but I have the principle to first get to know people before I accept their friendship." Harry said shaking Malfoy's hand, knowing to refuse to do so would be seen as an affront. "So, I'll wait until I know you better before calling you a friend. By the way, you should work a bit on your approach. You'll have to do better to have success in Slytherin." Harry commented.

"What do you mean, Potter?" Draco asked confused and a bit annoyed.

He was pleased that Potter had more or less accepted his offer of being acquaintances, but what did he mean his approach wasn't the best.

"That's easy, Malfoy. Why don't you sit down? This can take a while. I'd offer your friends a seat as well, but we seem to be a bit full already." Harry said. "By the way, what are your first names? Malfoy only told me your last names?" He asked Crabbe and Goyle.

They seemed to be taken aback at the question.

"Vincent." Crabbe said.

"Gregory." Goyle answered.

"Good to know. I always prefer to know the complete names of somebody. Too many possibilities for mix ups otherwise. Okay, Malfoy, we were talking about your approach. First thing: I'm sharing this compartment with two lovely ladies and another fine gentleman. The proper thing to do would have been to greet everybody in the compartment after knocking at the door of course, but especially the ladies. It's very rude to not follow the principles of etiquette. With you being raised following old pureblood tradition I thought you'd follow them instinctively." Harry said.

Terry, Susan and Hannah followed the exchange interested. Susan and Hannah blushed when Harry called them lovely ladies. Malfoy looked properly chastised. It was true; he should have followed proper protocol.

"You're right. Miss Bones, Miss Abbott, I apologize for my inappropriate behaviour. Boot, sorry for ignoring you." Draco said, trying to regain his composure.

The Boots and the Bones' were important pureblood houses and to not acknowledge them was bad performance. And if he ignored Hannah Abbott, even if she was a halfblood, he would commit another faux pas.

The three nodded; surprised that Harry got the arrogant Malfoy heir to apologize to them all.

"Good, now that that's out of the way, the next part. You didn't know me before you came to this compartment, you just barged in and practically demanded if I was the one you were looking for. How you ask a question and the kind of voice you use are very important for a first impression. Now I'm not a very resentful kind of guy, so I'll just let it slip but I expect a politer behaviour in the future. It wouldn't look good on me if I was acquainted with somebody who didn't manage to keep polite and behaves respectful, even if he doesn't like a person. You see, even if you think somebody is below you in station, you never show it to them. Everybody has his own strengths and weaknesses and you never know when you need to ask for a favour. Perhaps you insulted the only person that knows how to solve a problem you have before and you would therefore be unable to solve it. Or you insulted said person's best friend, boyfriend or girlfriend. You limit yourself by that behaviour." Malfoy looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"Then, and this is only a well-meant bit of advice, so please don't take offence, you seem to be used to get what you want by using your family name. While it's okay to be proud of your ancestors, you should make a name for yourself. Slytherin is the house of cunning and ambition. What do you want that people say about you in ten years when you've graduated from Hogwarts and are working? Oh, that's Lucius Malfoy's son, or, oh, that's Draco Malfoy. You know the one who did…insert what you think you'd like to hear, perhaps was headboy at Hogwarts or led his Quidditch team to victory?"

Harry let the message sink in. The art of manipulation was to let people do what they wanted to do, but what still worked in your favour. And the Malfoy name meant influence, even if Lucius was suspected to be a Death Eater. If he could get Draco to think for himself, much could be won.

Draco was deep in thought. He had never thought about things this way. He was used to use his father's power and influence to get his way, but did he want to stay in his father's shadow forever? The perspective Potter had described was really tempting. To be known for what he did, for his great achievements. A spark that had glowed for some time in Draco Malfoy was ignited. He would show just how ambitious he could be. Show he could reach the top on his own, making his family proud of him.

"Thanks, Potter. You've given me something I'll think about." Draco said and left the compartment, Crabbe and Goyle following him.

"Just how do you manage to handle people like that? Draco normally is an arrogant ponce who only needs to use his father's name and people jump out of fear of his father." Hannah asked. "He normally completely ignores me."

"I took him by his family's honour. I know his type of people. We had somebody like that at primary school. He's the only child of a rich family that is caught up in traditions and their own beliefs. He was spoiled all his life and didn't need to work for anything. The only thing he must have got drilled into his head is to not sully the family name. The pureblood traditions are similar to the behaviour of the muggle nobility. In public you are representing your house. You follow the code of conduct. At least as long as others know about it. I knew and he realized it. So me calling out his blunder meant he needed to keep face. That's the reason he apologized. Additionally he had always been told that he had to get to the top.

"With his whole family being in Slytherin, he had to have certain goals he wants to reach and he knows that being on friendly terms with me is a good way to get more connections. Not only is my family nobility, I also have that cute little moniker the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry explained.

Terry snorted at the comment and Harry grinned.

"So I could use his ambition to give him a little push in the direction I want him to go. It doesn't always work out completely, but now Malfoy is thinking about what **he** wants to achieve, not what his father wants. I know the rumours about the family, but if Draco can prove he is his own person, I won't hold his father's sins against him. And I made it clear that my acquaintance is subject to his proper behaviour as I won't be associated with people who blatantly disregard others. So it's a win-win situation. I keep on neutral to friendly terms with the Malfoy heir, having him as an enemy would only have been troublesome, and he can get some beneficial contacts through me." Harry said.

"Now I know why you think you could be a Slytherin. If that wasn't a cunning plan, I don't know." Susan said impressed.

* * *

**Okay, first contact with Neville, Hermione and Draco. Just what will happen from here on? You will find out in the next chapters ;)**


	8. Hogwarts

**Hi, here is the next chapter and I will finally reveal which house Harry will be sorted into. Have fun.**

* * *

**Hogwarts**

The train reached Hogsmeade station and the students filed out. Over all the noise the booming voice of Hagrid could be heard.

"Firs' years over here. Firs' years."

"Hey Hedwig, I can't take you with me for the sorting. Why don't you see if you find a few nice mice and go to the owlery? I'll come visit you in the morning." Harry suggested.

Hedwig hooted positively and took flight to some awed expressions of the students. Hedwig's plumage had turned completely silver except on her stomach, there it was a bright white.

"Say, why do you talk to her as if she was human?" Hannah asked.

"As I said, she's my familiar and she understands everything I say. She's very intelligent." Harry answered.

"Hey, Harry, everything okay?" Hagrid called over.

"Yes, thanks, Hagrid." Harry called back.

Once Hagrid had all first-years assembled, he led them towards a steep narrow path. Then they turned around a bend and Harry was startled by the sight of the lit castle in the darkness. Hundreds of windows were lit by the light inside the castle. Then they reached the shore of a lake.

"No more'n four to a boat." Hagrid announced pointing to a small fleet of boats sitting on the dark water.

Harry filled into a boat with Terry, Susan and Hannah. When all first-years were in the boats Hagrid commanded them forward. They sailed over the lake, awed by the experience. Finally they were told to keep their heads down and passed through an archway, hidden by a curtain of ivy, in the cliff. At the end of the archway, a stone staircase was located. They left the boats and followed Hagrid up the stairs until they reached the huge oak front doors of the castle. Hagrid knocked at the door and they waited until the door was opened.

"The firs' years Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.

"Thank you, Hagrid; I'll take them from here." McGonagall said.

She led the group towards a smaller chamber at the side of the entrance hall. Inside, she turned to them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts." She said. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house's dormitory and spend your free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts your triumphs will earn your house points while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whatever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you smarten yourself up as much as you can while you are waiting." She said, looking at Neville, who had managed to fasten his cloak under his left ear and a red haired boy who had a bit of dirt on his nose. "I shall return when we are ready for you."

* * *

After a small shock with the Hogwarts ghosts appearing through the walls, McGonagall returned.

"We are ready for you now; line up and follow me." She said.

Harry fell into line in front of Susan and after a boy with black hair and brown skin. They followed McGonagall and Harry looked up to see the ceiling he had read so much about in _Hogwarts a History_. They walked through the ail between the two tables in the middle. The eyes of all students on the four house tables were on them.

"The ceiling is charmed to look like the sky outside. I read it in _Hogwarts a History_." He heard Hermione tell another girl.

'Perhaps I should sometime give her the tip to not shove her knowledge upon others in that tone.' Harry pondered.

Then the new first-years spread out in front of the head table and were looking at an old shabby hat on a stool. Before Harry could think what the hat could have to do with the sorting it started singing. (I think it has been put into so many stories that I will skip it). In the song the hat outlined the traits of all the houses. Once it had ended loud applause and cheers erupted. Then McGonagall stepped forward and held out a parchment with names on it.

"When I call your name, you'll step forward and put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She informed the first-years. "Abbott, Hannah."

Hannah stumbled forward, nervous to be the first. The hat fell right over her eyes until it shouted out.

"HUFFLEPUFF."

Hannah joined the table on the right that cheered when the house was called out.

"Bones, Susan."

Again the hat was placed on the head and after a short time it shouted.

"HUFFLEPUFF."

Susan joined Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.

"Boot, Terry."

"RAVENCLAW."

This time the table on the left cheered.

So the line went on. Brocklehurst, Mandy became a Ravenclaw too while Brown Lavender became the first new Gryffindor and the table at the far right cheered. Bulstrode Millicent joined Slytherin and the table of the far left applauded.

'From the looks on some of their faces I better not be sorted there. They look like they could tear me apart.' Harry thought. 'Just why does that house attract so many children of Death Eaters?'

Then he saw the girl from the train, Hermione Granger being sorted. The hat took a longer time to sort her and then finally shouted

"GRYFFINDOR."

Hermione took off to the table under the red and gold banner.

To Harry's surprise Neville Longbottom, the boy who had lost his toad also went to Gryffindor. Then Draco Malfoy was called up. The hat didn't even touch his head for a second that it shouted

"SLYTHERIN."

Obviously Draco was really pleased and strode over to his new table. The P's were called up. Interestingly the twin girls Patil went to different houses. Padma went to Ravenclaw while Parvati was made a Gryffindor. Then Perks, Sally-Anne went to Hufflepuff and it was finally his turn.

"Potter, Harry." McGonagall called out.

Whispers erupted from all sides. Harry had expected it and confidently stepped forward. This was the time to make a good first impression. He was a bit confused though when he heard some girls giggle and say how cute he looked. Hell he was a boy, he wasn't cute. Girls were cute, boys were handsome or good-looking. Then the hat was placed on his head and the images from the Great Hall were blended out.

"Hm, difficult." Said a small voice in his ear. "Very difficult indeed. You didn't have an easy life, but you still managed to keep a pure heart, even if you definitely have taken to looking out for yourself first. You have plenty of courage, but you know when to take risks and when not. Your loyalty though is only to your friends, but if somebody gained your loyalty it's incredibly strong. You have an incredible mind; Rowena would have loved to have you in her house. But what's that? Such ambition and cunning. I think I know where you should go."

"Could you please not put me into Slytherin? I know that's the house where I should go, but I don't think it would be safe for me with all those whose parents followed Voldemort in the last war being there and secondly, I don't want to have to deal with the negative press it would cause. They would call me the next dark lord in training. You said I was intelligent enough that even Lady Ravenclaw would have wanted me in her house, can't I go there instead?" Harry asked in his mind.

"Hm, just for that thinking I should put you into Salazar's house, but you have a point at this making things difficult for you. But consider, you want to get to the top and Slytherin could help you on the path to true greatness." The hat reminded him. "So you are sure, then better be…"

"RAVENCLAW."

The last part was shouted out loudly. Harry took the hat off and saw that the Ravenclaw table had erupted in tumultuous cheers. He walked over to the table and sat down next to Terry.

"Seems your smarts won out over your cunning." Terry said grinning.

"No, I convinced the hat that it would be safer for me to go here instead to Slytherin." Harry whispered back.

"Good for you." Terry answered and clapped when Turpin, Lisa was also made a Ravenclaw.

Only a few remained now. Weasley, Ron, the red haired boy with the dirt on his nose was made a Gryffindor and greeted by another, older redhead, probably his brother. The last one was Zabini, Blaize and as expected he was sorted into Slytherin. Harry gave him a nod and got one in return.

"You know Zabini?" Terry asked.

"We met at Madam Malkin's when I got my robes." Harry said.

Then McGonagall took the stool and the sorting hat away and Professor Dumbledore stood. All students fell silent.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. Before we start our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Harry thought he was a bit weird. Then on the table appeared plates with delicious looking food. Harry didn't think he had ever seen so many thing he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup and for some strange reason peppermint humbugs.

He took some steak, chips, peas and carrots, some gravy and ketchup and started eating. Over eating he made light conversation with his new housemates.

The topics were their families, the subjects they were most looking forward to, their hobbies and Quidditch. Harry found out from some older students that sat nearby, that the current captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team was sixth year Daniel Barkaim. He would have to talk to him if he would mind if Harry tried out for the team.

"Ah, this year we'll have to do a pretty thorough rebuilding of our team,…" he heard Daniel say "…five of our old players have graduated last year, only Pomarel and I are left. I need a complete set of chasers and two beaters. I'll probably just do a complete tryout. Pomarel also told me he had declined the captaincy to concentrate on his NEWTs and didn't know if he could play the last game, so I'll at least need a reserve keeper. I don't know if we have a real chance at the cup this year, it will depend on the players I can find."

That was great in Harry's eyes. He wanted to try his luck as a chaser. While it was unusual for first-years to get on the house teams, it was not without precedence. When they were at their second taking a female ghost glided over to them and introduced herself as the Grey Lady, the house ghost of Ravenclaw. After having eaten much more than he normally did, but it just tasted too good, Harry saw that the others had similar problems. Just when he thought he was finished and the food disappeared, delicious looking desserts appeared. Ice blocks in all imaginable flavours, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding… Harry couldn't help himself but take some of it. Sweets had always been a weakness of his. The Dursleys forbid him to have any; all sweets were reserved for Dudley. He didn't even get to drink chocolate milk, if he was lucky he got normal milk, otherwise it had been water for him. He had treacle tart and some vanilla ice cream with strawberries.

He looked around a bit and his eyes fell on the head table. Hagrid was smiling at him when he saw him looking. There was also a hooked nosed teacher that looked downright unpleasant but why did he also look calculating? Next to him sat a man with a purple turban. Harry returned to talking with his housemates and eating. Once dessert was done with, he was getting a bit drowsy. He saw Dumbledore standing again.

"Now that we're all fed and watered, I have some announcements to make. First-years should notice that our forest in the grounds is forbidden to all students and some of the older students should also remember this." His eyes flashed over to the middle of the Gryffindor table where a pair of red haired twins looked mock innocent. "I've also been asked by Mr Filch the caretaker to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Those interested to play for their teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally I must tell you that this year; the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who doesn't want to die a very painful death."

Harry's face contorted into a mask of concentration. Could Dumbledore have really brought the Philosopher's Stone here to Hogwarts? It seemed to be a bit reckless. On the other hand, there had been an attempt to break into a high security vault at Gringotts on his birthday. Just shortly before Dumbledore had been made aware that Voldemort would probably try to steal the Flamels' stone to regain a body by using the elixir of life. Was there a connection?

Some people laughed, but they were a minority.

"That's strange; normally Professor Dumbledore gives reasons why we're forbidden to go somewhere." A girl with brown curly hair and a prefect badge pinned to her robes said to her friend.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song." Dumbledore cried.

The teachers faces looked strained at the prospect.

Dumbledore shot the words in the air from his wand and everyone started singing. It was the most chaotic choir Harry had ever heard. Everybody used his favourite melody and ended at different times. He couldn't understand why the song didn't have at least a common melody. The last ones to sing were the twin redheads at the Gryffindor table who sang to a funeral march. They seemed like pranksters if he pegged them right.

"Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here! And now bedtime. Of you trot." He said.

"Does he think we are horses?" Kevin Entwhistle asked.

"Don't know, he seems a bit mad." Lisa Turpin commented.

"Ravenclaw first-years, to me please." The curly haired girl with the prefect badge called out.

Harry and the other first-years assembled around her. He noticed that the other houses already trooped out.

"Hi, I'm Penelope Clearwater, but call me Penny. I'm the fifth year female Ravenclaw prefect. The other fifth year prefect is Marcel Hagion. He had to speak with Professor Flitwick, our head of house, urgently, so I'm going to show you the way to our common room. Each house's common room is in a different part of the castle. I don't really know where they are exactly, only that the Gryffindors are in one of the towers like us, the Slytherins are in the dungeons and the Hufflepuffs are close to the kitchen somewhere. Each house has a certain way to protect their common room. For us Ravenclaws, the house of learning, we have a different riddle each time. Every person will be asked the riddle. If you don't know it, either wait for somebody else to solve it, or go to Professor Flitwick's office. It's on the same corridor as our common room. This is made so you learn constantly. Professor Flitwick will also give a little introductory speech tomorrow morning before breakfast, so make sure you're up early enough. Now follow me and try to look out for significant landmarks." She said and started walking out of the hall.

* * *

They walked through several corridors, up a few flights of stairs, which Penny warned them about changing directions all the time, until they finally arrived at a door without a handle or a keyhole, nothing, only with a bronze knocker in the form of an eagle. Penny reached out and knocked once.

"_I am hot or cold, but you can't see me,  
__I'm cherished or cursed, it doesn't care me,  
__I can cause wars but also bring peace,  
__I can boil your blood but also freeze."_

Penny turned to the first-years.

"Okay, who wants to have a shot at this? It's a bit tricky this one." She said.

Harry thought about the poem. Some others gave it a try, but guessed wrong.

"Love." Harry finally said.

"Correct." The knocker said and the door swung open.

Penny led them into a wide circular room, airier than any room Harry had seen before. Graceful arched windows punctuated the walls, which were hung with blue and bronze silks; Harry guessed by day there would be a spectacular view of the surrounding grounds. The ceiling was domed and painted with stars, which were echoed in the midnight blue carpet. There were tables, chairs and bookcases and in a niche was a statue made of white marble.

"This is a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, the founder of our house. Many generations of Ravenclaws have tried to find her lost diadem, the crown you see on her head. It's said that it bestows wisdom to its wearer." Penny explained.

Harry had the impression that Rowena Ravenclaw had been a beautiful, but also slightly intimidating person.

"Now, we here in Ravenclaw value the perfect conditions for learning undisturbed, but we are also held to high standards by Professor Flitwick. You will learn about them tomorrow morning. During your first and second year here at Hogwarts you will share your room with one of your classmates. From third year on, you'll get single rooms. To make things a bit more interesting, your rooms are currently in their basic state. You'll be given the tools to improve them, but more about that Professor Flitwick will tell you tomorrow. The meeting will be here in the common room at half past seven, after the meeting I will lead you down to the Great Hall for breakfast. The dorms of the boys are located up the stairs on the left, the dorms for the girls up the other stairs on the right. Your names are on the plaques on the doors. Your luggage has already been brought there for you. Make sure you always get a good night's sleep. Being rested is important to reach good results in your classes." Penny informed them.

The first-years divided into boys and girls and went up the stairs. As there were five boys, Harry deducted that one would either get a single room or three boys would be in one room. When they saw the names on the doors, he saw it was neither. Harry was in a room with a boy who wasn't a first year. He opened the door and saw the boy who would be his roommate for the year, Rick Flannigan. He was a blond boy with some freckles in his face and a bit bigger than Harry.

"Hi, I'm Rick. Seems like we get to room together this year. Last year they also did this, we were seven boys that were sorted here and Thomas Erimmos had to room with a second year. I guess they draw who is put together somehow." He introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Harry. I don't mind. You surely can tell me one thing or another about the school." Harry said.

"No problem. You really surprised many people today during the sorting. Nearly all students were pretty sure you'd go to Gryffindor with all the stories and the defeat of You-Know-Who." Rick said.

"Well, if they believe the books that Lockhart twit wrote, they're all made up, not one thing in there is true. I only read the first one, because I wondered why there were books about me. I grew up with my muggle aunt and only found out about the wizarding world when I got my letter. And even then I was lucky to have intercepted it before they could see it. Otherwise they would have thrown a fit and tried to prevent me coming here. Thankfully I'm out of there for good." Harry said.

"Ouch, doesn't sound like a good place to grow up. But that will be a punch in the gut for many people, especially some girls." Rick replied.

"Do you mind if my familiar comes to visit us over the day from time to time? At night she'll be out hunting or in the owlery." Harry asked.

"You have an owl familiar? That's unusual, but I don't mind, as long as she doesn't leave her droppings here." Rick answered.

"Thanks, well Hedwig is special. She's a moon owl." Harry said.

Rick dropped his box which he was just putting into the bookcase next to his bed.

"You're kidding me, right?" He asked.

"No, she really is a moon owl. Hagrid told me after I had bought her. I think the shop assistant thought she was a snowy owl. She only had a few silver feathers back then, but now only her stomach is snow white. The rest of her plumage is silver." Harry said grinning and took his pyjamas out of his trunk. He would unpack tomorrow over lunch break. For now he was too tired. He took his toiletries, the pyjama and some towels and got ready to go to the bathroom.

"Damn it, a real moon owl. She'll gain a lot of attention when the mail comes in the mornings." Rick commented.

"Probably, but I hope it will calm down after the other students get used to her. And I think she also likes to be the centre of attention most of the time. She's quite vain. By the way, do we share the bath with the other first-years?" Harry asked.

"No, thankfully each double room has its own basic bath. From third year on also two persons always share a bath. I've heard the prefects get special baths. I've never seen one of them though." Rick answered.

"Okay, well, I'll get ready for bed. I'm tired." Harry said yawning.

Rick nodded and continued unpacking. When Harry returned he had his things for the bathroom out and walked in there. Harry pushed back the blue blanket on his four poster bed with hangings in the Ravenclaw colours. The bed was comfy but only a little broader than a normal single bed. The room itself was divided in two halves, one for each student. Each student had a bed, a wardrobe, a desk with a candle holder on each side and a bookcase on his side. That was it. Harry was curious how they could improve their rooms. He would find out tomorrow. He slipped under the covers and soon fell asleep.

* * *

At half past six Harry heard an alarm clock go off. He looked around a bit disorientated until he remembered he was in his room at Hogwarts and the alarm clock was probably Rick's. Soon the alarm was turned off and he could hear Rick climb out of the bed. Harry looked around and saw that the sun was just rising over the mountains he could see from their window. So their window was pointing east. Not a bad thing to get out of bed in the mornings. He heard Rick walking and a door opening. So Rick was probably going to shower. Well, as he was already awake he could use the time to unpack his trunk. He took out his clothes from the wardrobe compartment and placed them in the proper places in his wardrobe. The robes, pants and dress shirts he hung onto a pole on the left side to be sure they didn't wrinkle, it always looked bad on you if you went to classes in untidy clothes.

The wardrobe had seven partitions and two drawers on the right, which were separated from the pole by a plank, where he sorted his shirts, pullovers, jeans, socks, underwear, sportswear, winter equipment and shoes into. He changed the trunk compartment to the library part and took out the books he had and placed them in the bookcase. Last he turned to the storage area compartment and took out his towels and toiletries and placed them in the wardrobe as well. He decided the potion ingredients would stay in the trunk for now until he knew more about properly storing them in his room. Rick could probably give him an idea as he had already been here for a year.

When Rick left the bathroom after fifteen minutes, Harry went inside. He took a shower, brushed his teeth and went to the loo, which was separate from the shower and sink. Obviously space was no issue in a magical castle.

When he went out into the dorm again, he saw that Rick was nearly ready to go down into the common room.

"Morning, Harry, I hope you don't mind me getting up at half past six in the mornings?" Rick asked.

"No, I normally worked out in the afternoons after school, but I can adjust that to the mornings. When do classes start?" Harry asked.

"At nine. Breakfast is served from half past six. I just can't concentrate well late in the evening, so I do some of my homework and studying in the morning." Rick explained.

"Okay, good to know. By the way, those adjustments to the room Penny talked about yesterday; do you have to earn them anew every year? I mean if not you got a bad hand with rooming with me."

"No, you're right. To keep us on our toes, we have to prove that we have earned the improvements every year again. Of course the things we need to do get more advanced the further we are in our studies. But Professor Flitwick will explain it to you firsties." He said. He took his book-bag and walked out of the room.

Harry took out one pair of his black pants, a white dress shirt and a robe and placed them on his bed. He took off the t-shirt he had worn in the bathroom and started dressing. The last thing he did was putting on the blue and bronze tie. Thankfully Mr Miller had shown all the boys on the football team how to properly knot a tie. He had said every boy had to learn it sooner or later and for their secondary schools they would all have to know it. Harry looked at his wristwatch and saw it was a quarter past seven. He went down to the common room and saw that Anthony and Kevin were also already down as were Su Li and Sylveena Esmeraude. Their year of Ravenclaws consisted of six girls and five boys. He knew that Terry and Michael Corner shared their room, so probably Su and Sylveena were also roommates. Now they only needed to wait for Padma Patil, Lisa Turpin, Mandy Brocklehurst and Morag McDougal as he saw Terry and Michael just coming down the stairs.

Once they were all assembled, they only had to wait for a few more minutes for Professor Flitwick to come into the common room.

"Good morning, everybody." The small Professor greeted.

"Good morning, Professor Flitwick." Everybody answered, including the ones working at the tables.

"Ah, good to see all our new Ravenclaws fresh and ready to start their first day of school. I want to tell you a few things that you will need to know to have a successful time here at Hogwarts. Firstly, I'm sure Professor McGonagall informed you about the house point system. I expect all of my Ravenclaws to show proper behaviour towards their teachers. If there is a difference in opinion with one teacher or an argument, you will tell me and we will work on a solution together after the class. I also want to tell you right from the beginning that especially Professor Snape has high demands in his class and as it is a dangerous subject, he doesn't tolerate any foolish behaviour. If you want to avoid problems with him, be polite and respectful and prepare every lesson beforehand. The preparation will help you in all classes, but in that one it is especially important. Professor Snape doesn't hesitate to deduct points if he finds any point to justify it." Professor Flitwick stressed.

"We are the house of the intelligent students that have a love for learning. Over the first four years your grades will be expressed in the percentage you reached on your essays and at the end of the year the exams which will decide if you are moved up a year. From fifth year on the teachers will grade you following the OWL guidelines. OWL means Ordinary Wizarding Level and they are taken at the end of fifth year. The passing grades are A for Acceptable, E for Exceeds Expectations and O for Outstanding. I expect each of you to at least achieve at least an E in all your classes when you take your OWLs. The equivalent to an A is reaching at least sixty per cent. An E you get for at least eighty per cent and an Outstanding for ninety five per cent and above. If any of you wonder how it could be possible to get over hundred per cent, for especially good answers that extend the requested minimum extra credit is given. You have seven subjects this year, Astronomy, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions and Transfiguration. After the first month of getting used to the classes, I expect each of you to at least get A's in all classes, after the Christmas break in all but one class E's. I know that you nearly always have a weak class, so as long as you pass it, there won't be problems. If anybody doesn't reach that requirement I will arrange tutoring for the student so he or she can reach that level.

"Additionally to the traditional classes this year we will give you the opportunity to learn muggle subjects as well. Those subjects are voluntary, but the exams you sit in them will fully count in the muggle world if you want to apply for a job there or should you decide to continue your schooling after Hogwarts at a muggle university." This surprised many, especially the older students who listened closely now. "The headmaster and the heads of houses have decided to arrange those extra classes every second Saturday morning for the whole morning. Which means from nine in the morning till two in the afternoon you get the chance to either continue or start on your studies in muggle subjects. The teachers will be two muggleborn witches who have degrees in their subjects from Oxford University as far as I was informed. For those of you who aren't familiar with that name, it is one of the most respected muggle universities in the whole of Britain."

Many whispered what the classes might entail and if it would be beneficial for them to go there.

"As I know that you are all at different levels this won't be strictly divided by years, but you will be given a test to find out your current level and then you will be given fitting topics to study. A lot of the work will be like projects, but some will be like lectures. The classes that will be covered are English Literature, Maths, Science, Politics, History and Economics. You will be able to either do them all or choose those you are interested in. For those interested in taking Arithmancy in third year as an elective might profit from taking the Maths class and I can assure you that muggle literature can be very inspiring." Flitwick said. "The sheets to sign up will be at the notice board after lunch.

"I hold monthly meetings for all the members of my house. Those meetings take half an hour and we can discuss problems, wishes for furthering your studies, your achievements for the house and other things that come up then. Which brings me to the next point. I'm sure Miss Clearwater already informed you about the Ravenclaw incentive program. I don't believe that students should just be given certain things, but that you have to earn them. Therefore each year gets a list with things they have to achieve to improve their rooms. It doesn't matter how fast you do it or if you do it, but you can ask your older housemates and they'll confirm for you that the effort is well awarded. At the beginning of a new year you start at zero again. Those improvements can be carpets in the rooms, curtains, plants, for the higher years more comfortable and bigger beds, in the rooms for the younger years there simply is no space for them, more furniture and so on. And trying to do the improvement spells yourself won't work, the rooms are spelled to only accept house elf magic and the Hogwarts elves will only do those improvements on my instructions.

"I advise you to build study groups, they have proven to help students to easier understand the material and split up the workload so that you all have more time for yourselves. Once you have passed a flying test given by Madam Hooch, you can borrow the school brooms from her and fly in your free time at the Quidditch pitch as long as none of the Quidditch teams is training there. As I know that many of you are Quidditch fans and I hear the question if you can try out for the house team every year, I'll tell you this. If you manage to prove to Madam Hooch that you can handle a broom properly, you can go to the tryout. Daniel Barkaim, our Quidditch captain told me that he will hold the trials in the third week, which means you will have had your first flying lesson already. Normally the older students that try out will be better than you, but I don't want to discourage any of you from trying. If in the improbable case one of you is really chosen for the team, we will have to get permission from the headmaster to get that person a broom which will be held by Madam Hooch outside of your team training to not have you abuse the privilege. But a student making the team in first year hasn't happened in over a hundred years, so please don't get your hopes up too much.

"I will hand out your timetables when we are finished. On the back of the timetable is a basic map which shows you the routes to the classrooms you need to get to. We can't have the prefects escort you, as they have to get to their own classes, but this map will help you find your way. So don't lose your timetables. Always eat enough during the meals. You will spend more energy than you are used to, so you need to replace it. The same goes for getting enough sleep. Only a rested body can help you achieve good results. Okay, now I think I've talked enough, if you ever have problems that need to be solved soon, my office is on this floor, when you leave the common room turn right and then it's the last door before the staircase on the left. Okay, please come here to take your timetables." Professor Flitwick said and started handing out the pieces of parchment.

Every student also got the list of things they were tasked to achieve. There were mainly some spells, an essay about two potions that needed to reach a certain quality, finishing an Astronomy chart and if they managed to reach the O equivalent in a class before Christmas that would also count. Harry thought this list was well manageable. The extent of the muggle classes was also very encouraging. Having the chance to work on project at his own pace would help him a lot. And perhaps he could sway some wizard raised students to at least see what the classes were about. He was sure that the muggleborns would at least choose one or two of the subjects. He waited for the others being done and then they went with Penny, who also had a timetable in her hand down to the Great Hall.

* * *

**Okay, the winner is Ravenclaw! I decided that for this story using the more common alternative of Slytherin would be boring, but that doesn't mean that Harry will spend all his time learning now. But you will see for yourselves in the next chapters. Till then.**


	9. Classes Begin

**Hi, here is chapter nine. Thanks for all your reviews. I try reading them all and answering questions, but those that will be answered later through the story I won't answer. For pairings, I haven't decided yet but I won't go with Harry / Ginny here as she doesn't fit to the a lot more mature Harry that I have created for this story. Probably dating will wait at least until third year.**

**Now happy reading.**

* * *

**Classes Begin**

The first class Harry and the other Ravenclaw first-years had was Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Hufflepuffs. The classroom stank horribly of garlic. But that wasn't the worst thing. Professor Quirrell was stuttering all the time, so getting the relevant information about what he was trying to teach them was hard. Harry was not sure if he was really qualified to teach this subject, the man seemed to be too jumpy. At the end of class Harry had come to the conclusion he would have to do a lot of self-study to not get problems with this class. Hopefully the other classes were taught by better teachers. Otherwise he wouldn't be here next year but in Beauxbatons.

The next class was History of Magic. In front of the class sat a middle aged witch with black hair in blue robes who was writing down something in a book until the bell rang. Then she looked up and took notice of every student individually. Then she started talking.

"Good morning. I'm Andromeda Tonks and your teacher in History of Magic. Until last year this class was taught by Professor Binns, a ghost who has been asked by Professor Dumbledore to finally retire. If any of you have older siblings or cousins who reported that History of Magic was a class where you can sleep, forget that right now, sleeping in my class will not be tolerated. History of Magic is an important part of your education and I intend to show you just how the past has influenced our lives today. This year we will start with the earliest forms of magic appearing, continue with the first humans to intentionally use magic, different ways magic was used in the past and the time of Merlin.

"I expect from you to pay attention to what I say and take notes. If you have a question to something I tell you, don't hesitate to ask. It's always easier to answer questions directly than after a lesson when the question could be out of context. And always remember, there are no stupid questions as long as they concern the topic we are working on. And perhaps your classmates have a similar question but don't want to ask. But this won't just be a lecture class, you will actively participate. We will have discussions about the things we cover in classes. Thinking for yourselves and asking critical questions is part of growing up. Okay, now we have to take roll-call, so I'll read out your names and you raise your hands." Professor Tonks said and started her class.

After History of Magic, Harry was happy. It had been a really good class and Professor Tonks seemed to be competent and nice. He and the other Ravenclaws talked on their way back to their common room how good that class had been. They left their books in their rooms and went back down for lunch. With lunch-break being from one o'clock until a quarter past two there was no reason to carry their bags with them. They would have more than enough time to return to the common room and get their things for the afternoon class, which today was Transfiguration.

For lunch there was roast chicken or meatballs with boiled potatoes or rice and different sauces or ketchup with three sorts of vegetables to choose from. There was pumpkin juice or water to drink. Dessert was either yoghurt with fruit or preserved fruit with juice.

In Transfiguration which the Ravenclaws had with the Gryffindors, Professor McGonagall quickly showed that she was a strict teacher and didn't tolerate any nonsense in her class. She gave a warning for those that thought that they could mess around would be asked to leave and not come back. They were impressed when she turned her desk into a pig and back, but had to realize that it would take a long time until they were at that level. After taking intensive notes they were all handed a match and told to turn it into a needle.

Soon all over the class the incantations were spoken and the students tried to do the spell. Harry recalled what he had read in one of the additional books he had got on Transfiguration. Transfiguration was a subject where you needed to work precisely and concentrate on the effect you wanted your magic to have on the matter you were changing. Well, Harry's knowledge in chemistry and physics now would prove useful. He concentrated on the difference a metal needle would have to its environment contrary to a wooden matchstick. He visualized the optical differences of both and then spoke the incantation.

"Mr Potter." Professor McGonagall called out surprised.

"Yes, Professor?" Harry asked looking between his needle on his desk and the Professor.

"Was that the first time you attempted the spell?" She asked.

"Yes, Professor." Harry answered.

"Incredible. You definitely inherited your father's talent for Transfiguration. Take ten points for Ravenclaw. Try changing the needle back." She said, giving him a rare smile.

Harry concentrated again and the needle turned into a matchstick.

"Really well done, Mr Potter. Take five more points for Ravenclaw. Here are more matchsticks, work on transfiguring first a higher number of matchsticks and then a whole box into needles for the rest of the lesson." She said and walked around watching the other students.

Hermione Granger looked at Harry as if she was annoyed that he had got the spell on his first try. At the end of the lesson, only Hermione had managed to make a difference to her matchstick, it had gone all silver and Professor McGonagall gave her three points for Gryffindor for it. Harry meanwhile had transfigured his whole box of matchsticks into a whole box of needles and shown he was far ahead of the others.

"Hey, Harry, that was a great show in the class. How did you get the transfiguration done so well?" Anthony asked.

"I have concentrated on the effects I want to achieve with the spell. Just how wood and metal are different from each other. The matter I wanted to change. Like if I put a match in a glass of water it would swim, a needle on the other hand would sink. Then the outlook of the needle. You have to see in your mind how the thing you want to get will look like to do it. It's all a question of concentration." Harry explained.

"I'll have to try that when I review the spell in the common room. Thanks for the tip, Harry." Anthony said.

"No problem, Anthony." Harry replied.

"By the way, call me Tony, Anthony is too long and all my friends call me Tony." He said.

"Sure thing, Tony." Harry said.

* * *

Things stayed interesting over the week. The most recognizable event was Professor Sinistra swooning over the muggle telescope Harry had brought for the Astronomy classes. She had obviously never seen a telescope that got her such a clear and far away insight of the solar system. When Harry offered her to lend her the telescope for her private use when he didn't need it, he earned twenty points for Ravenclaw from the very happy Astronomy teacher. It was obvious that she really loved her subject.

On Thursday the Ravens had their first Potions class with the Badgers. Many horror stories were told around Hogwarts about the Potions Professor, Severus Snape. Harry was prepared though, he had read the complete supplementary books he got from the Apothecary, had read the Potions book and reviewed the first chapter on boil cure potions and marked the critical phases of the brewing. He even had lent his books to his fellow Ravenclaws to get an idea just how useful they would be. Harry knew that eleven orders for the books on brewing techniques and ingredients had gone out Tuesday evening. Rick had also been impressed and cursed that he didn't have those books last year and that nobody had informed him about them. Harry was pretty sure by the end of next week many more orders would reach Miss Ranamis and Flourish and Blotts.

The classroom was in the dungeons and just as they had been told the students were present five minutes before the class started to not give their teacher cause to start deducting points. Exactly on time the door to the classroom was thrown open and their teacher strode into the room in billowing robes.

Snape like many others, first tool roll-call and paused a little at Harry's name.

"Ah, yes," He said softly "our new – _celebrity_."

Harry didn't react though. He was used to worse from the Dursleys.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began.

He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but like Professor McGonagall he had the gift to keep a class silent without effort.

"As there is little foolish wand waving here, many of you will hardly believe that this is magic. I don't expect you to really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – as long as you aren't a bunch of dunderheads that I normally have to teach."

More silence followed the little speech. Harry had long since learned to copy the important points of lectures teachers gave and while he listened, his hand flew over the parchment, dotting down notes.

"Potter." Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Powdered root of asphodel is a core ingredient in all sleeping draughts, sir. In combination with an infusion of wormwood that can, depending on the concentration of the wormwood infusion and the other ingredients of the potion either make the Draught of Living Death or the Elixir of Clairvoyance. The first one is the most powerful known sleeping potion; the second one is used to test potential seers through a powerful trancelike state." Harry answered.

"Correct, Potter. Let's see if you are as well-prepared as you seem to be. Where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?" Snape asked unwillingly slightly impressed. He had only wanted to know about the Draught of Living Death.

"A bezoar is a stone that can be found in the stomach of a goat and will protect you against most poisons. As you normally don't have a goat available most potions masters have given recommendations to add one to every basic potions ingredient kit, but that recommendation hasn't been accepted by many schools yet." Harry said.

"Indeed. Last question, what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" He asked.

"The difference is that they are different parts of the same plant. Wolfsbane is the common term for the blossoms of the plant, monkshood are the leaves. Both names can be used for the plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." Harry answered.

"Now please let your classmates know where you found that extensive amount of information, Mr Potter." Snape said, grudgingly very impressed.

That was not what he had expected by the son of James Potter. That sounded a lot more like Lily when they had started at Hogwarts.

"There are two really useful books, called _Brewing Techniques_ and _Ingredients 101. _They were recommended to me by Miss Ranamis, the owner of a small apothecary in a side alley to Diagon Alley where I bought my supplies for potions. From there I got the information on the bezoar and aconite, but they can also be found in _1000 Magical Herbs and Funghi_. The information about the Draught of Living Death can be found in our textbook in the introduction, Professor." Harry said.

"Well done, Mr Potter, five points to Ravenclaw for proper preparation to this class. Why are some of you not writing that down?" He asked dangerously. Quills started scratching over parchment immediately.

"As Mr Potter correctly stated potions masters recommend to have a bezoar in the ingredient kit. It hasn't been made a requirement by the Board of Governors, even though I repeatedly tried to get it on the list, as well as the two books Mr Potter mentioned. If you want to have success in my class, I advise you to get them. Now, divide into pairs and start brewing the potions described in chapter one, a very basic potion used for curing boils. The recipe is on the board, ingredients are in the student cupboard. You have until the end of class, begin." Snape said.

Harry ended up pairing with Sally-Anne Perks from Hufflepuff. With Harry having thoroughly prepared for the lesson, he managed to coach Sally-Anne, who was muggleborn and hadn't known about the high demands of Snape, through the steps of brewing and explained the techniques that were used in hushed whispers.

"Now is the critical phase. Whenever you use porcupine quills in potions, always take the cauldron from the fire, or it will explode in your face, Perks." He said.

She nodded and they continued the brewing. Snape walked around the class, gave some harsh comments about some potions, for others he simply nodded. Harry and Sally-Anne were one of the pairs that got a nod. When the potion was finished, Harry filled a sample into one of his vials, labelled it with his name and saw Sally-Anne doing the same. They then took their samples to Professor Snape's desk and put them in the carrier that was placed there for the vials. They returned to their workstation and cleaned up. They were done just when the bell rang for the end of class.

"Homework will be twelve inches about the correct procedure of brewing boil cure potion and the critical phases of successfully making the potion. Potter, please stay for a moment." Snape said.

Harry wondered what this was about, but signalled his housemates to go on to lunch and that he would follow. When all the others had left Snape turned to him.

"I was surprised with your performance today, Potter. I have to admit, I feared you would be more like your father, whose looks you inherited, but you seem to me to come more like your mother. She was a genius in Potions. How did you get aware of Miss Ranamis apothecary?" Snape asked.

"Hagrid took me there. He said he had heard you talking about the higher quality of the ingredients sold by her and as we had a lot of time while I was staying at Diagon Alley, he took me there to get my ingredients kit. Miss Ranamis was the one to recommend the books to me and told me you always informed your house of their importance in class." Harry asked.

"I see. That was indeed fortunate for you. What was the reason that you stayed in Diagon Alley? Didn't you live with relatives?"

Harry sighed. "It will come out soon anyway as there will be a trial. I grew up with my mother's sister and she and her husband despise magic. I was … well, abused … and I am glad Healer Ickings made sure I got out of there. Did you know my parent as you compared me to my mother?"

Snape didn't show his shock. Harry Potter being abused by Petunia? He had thought the boy had grown up like a pampered prince. Good that Dumbledore had asked him to hold his judgement until after he had got to know the boy in class. This boy had more of Lily's personality than Potter's. He could see it in those intelligent green eyes.

"Indeed. While your father and I couldn't stand each other, I was friends with your mother from the time we were children. I also know your aunt Petunia. She was always kind of nasty, but when your mother got her Hogwarts letter and she couldn't get here, she developed out of jealousy an irrational hatred of magic; she called Lily a freak before she started her first year, which sadly seems to have transferred to you. Keep up your work and I might acknowledge that you aren't a dunderhead." Snape said.

"I will, thank you sir. If you don't mind, as you are the person who knew my mother longest, could you perhaps tell me a few stories about her? I'm sure everything Petunia told me about her was lies." Harry asked timidly.

"We will see, Mr Potter. Now I think you should go to lunch, I know Professor Flitwick has impressed upon all his Ravens how important good meals are for you." Snape answered.

"Yes, Professor Snape. Thank you." Harry said and left the room.

'Why, Lily, does your son have to be so much like you?' Snape wondered in his mind.

* * *

After the second week of term all first-years had already found out that there simply was nothing Harry Potter wasn't good at. He excelled at using his wand, got spells on his first or second try, was the only student outside Slytherin that Snape seemed to accept and his essays were top notch. But from the other Ravenclaw first years, meaning the gossip pipeline Parvati Patil had into the house through her twin sister Padma, it also spread around that Harry didn't spend all his time reading books or learning. Nearly every evening he could be found in the common room, introducing the wizarding raised students to the joys of Cluedo and Monopoly. The game 'Wizard' had also become popular and some older students had helped younger ones to make their own sets of cards using a few spells. As they only needed a set of cards with thirteen cards in four colours as well as four 'Wizard' cards and four 'Court Jester' cards, it was easily done and even the older students liked to play the game. Statements of how many packs of cards they would get were often heard in the evening.

The game was easy to learn. Each round you got as many cards as rounds were played. So in first round everybody got one card, in second round two cards and so on. The higher a number on your card, the higher the probability to get a pack. Players looked at their cards and had to guess how many packs they would get over the round. If they were right, they got twenty points and for every pack they got right, ten extra points. If they were wrong, they got ten negative points and additionally ten negative points for each pack they were off from their guess. With how you had to serve the colour that was played first, one colour being chosen as trump before the round by turning up the next card to be played and putting it under the remaining cards, you could never be sure to get a pack or not. Especially as wizards and court jesters could always be played and 'wizards' trumped everything except another 'wizard' that was played first and 'court jesters' didn't get a pack except all four cards were the 'court jester'. In the end you saw who had won overall. Even Professor Flitwick could be seen playing a game with the seventh-years one time as he was interested to learn the new game that kept his house so fascinated.

The muggle classes were taken well by many Ravenclaws. The turnout was lesser in the other houses, from Slytherin only a few first and second years went to the Maths and Literature classes as those they could argue were actually useful for magical purposes later on. Or in case of Literature for their school work as structuring essays properly and summarizing material they covered was part of what the students learned. Some students tried the classes to see what they were about, but a lot of them didn't return because they didn't want to add the work on top of their normal studies. The ones to take most classes together with Harry were Hermione Granger and Miranda Lillowe from Gryffindor. Hermione took all of them and Miranda Literature, Maths, Science and Economics.

* * *

The next Tuesday the Ravenclaws had their first flying lesson together with the Hufflepuffs. Harry hoped he would manage to get the okay from Madam Hooch to go to the try-outs. The school brooms didn't look that promising. They had twigs standing out at the tails and from some older Ravens the first-years had heard that some tended to sway off course. They took places next to the brooms and waited for Madam Hooch to start explaining what she wanted them to do.

"Good afternoon and welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, let's not twiddle our thumbs; this is a completely practical lesson. Hold out your hands over your brooms and say 'Up'." Madam Hooch instructed.

Shouts of up were heard. Harry's broom immediately jumped into his hand.

Terry rolled his eyes.

"That proves it; there is nothing Harry Potter isn't good at." He mumbled.

"There is, Terry, he is absolutely incapable at getting control over his hair." Michael whispered back.

Harry's untameable hair was the one point the Ravenclaw first-years could mock Harry with. Otherwise he was just too nice a guy to not like. They all knew he didn't have any real friends yet, but he treated all of them friendly, was always helpful and had explained why he just couldn't just make friends and first needed to get to know people. He just had made too many bad experiences in his childhood to trust easily.

Especially the girls of all houses liked him. Even the Slytherins. Harry Potter was the perfect gentleman, he was witty and without ever needing to result to shouting or insults he could handle all verbal attacks that had been thrown at him so far. Harry was a bit uncomfortable when he heard that even the older girls giggled when he passed by. But he would have to deal with it; he was after all trying to leave a good impression.

"My hair falls in the category of force majeure." Harry said grumbling.

"You keep telling yourself that, Harry." Terry replied.

"Enough bickering, Mr Boot, Mr Corner and Mr Potter. Now that you all have your brooms in your hands mount them and make sure you have good hold to not slide of the broom when you're in the air." Madam Hooch said.

They all did that and she went around, looking at their grips and positions and correcting it here and there.

"Now, on my whistle I want you to kick off, hover three feet above the ground, then lean forward and come down again." She blew her whistle and the whole class rose into the air, hovering more or less precisely three feet over the ground.

Harry felt great. This felt like he had always known how to do it. For his other skills he had worked hard and studied hours to remember facts, practiced techniques, ran to build up his speed, or trained shooting goals. This he didn't need to learn he just knew it. Then Madam Hooch let them fly around the field. Ten minutes before the lesson was up, she offered those who felt safe enough a race around the Quidditch pitch. Harry jumped at the opportunity. Seven others also did. When Madam Hooch blew her whistle to start the race, Harry leaned down on his broom and shot forward. He instinctively knew how to shift position on the broom to take a turn, how he could gain speed and how to break once he had passed the finish line.

The students that hadn't participated in the race cheered and clapped for him. He waved down to them smiling brightly.

"Damn, Harry, didn't you say this would be your first real flying lesson?" Tony asked.

"It is. This is the first time I'm flying on a real broom. Hagrid told me that I had a toy broom as a baby. Obviously I once nearly killed Mum's cat while flying on it which Dad found hilarious. But since then I never again sat on a broom. But this is so easy." Harry said laughing.

The Ravenclaws discovered a new, carefree side of Harry Potter that day. As long as he was on a broom he truly behaved like a little child. Normally he was collected and gave a good impression, but here in the air he was just a normal boy who had fun. He challenged them to a game of tag, which only ended with nobody being able to catch him when Madam Hooch called them down. He was still grinning like a loon after landing.

"Very good. I know that Professor Flitwick lets those that are interested try out for the house team as long as I give the go ahead. While I can say that most of you will be ready to do normal flights at the end of the month I would only agree to Mr Potter, Mr Goldstein and Miss Turpin trying out for the team. The others should train a bit more and if they want try out next year." She said.

Harry and Lisa nodded at wanting to try out, but Tony declined.

"I'm too busy getting used to the classes at the moment. When I have a better grip on them next year I will possibly try my hand at Quidditch, but I can't really see myself being good enough to play for the team, as much as I like watching." Tony explained.

The others accepted the explanation.

* * *

From the Hufflepuffs news about the first-year permission to try for the teams was spread to Gryffindor and somehow Slytherin also caught up. When those houses' members asked their heads of houses why they weren't given the chance, they got different answers.

Professor McGonagall told them that if any talented first-years were in the class, Madam Hooch always informed their heads of house and then they decided to give them a chance. But on the school brooms there hadn't been any first-year to make the team in over a hundred years, because the older students just were physically stronger or more talented.

Professor Sprout told her house something similar. It took a good amount of work to be on the house team and she had found that in their first year students were busy enough with other things. If somebody really stood out, Madam Hooch would inform her.

Professor Snape simply told his house that the demanding style Slytherin played was too much to bear for a first year and as a consequence, if he let first-years on the team their performance in class would suffer, which he wouldn't tolerate.

* * *

Friday morning Harry got mail. He didn't expect any mail, so he was curious who would write him. He looked at the sender and found the name Remus Lupin. He smiled. He had written Lupin just before he came to Hogwarts to see if he wanted to build up contact. Harry was interested in this only real link to his past. Lupin wrote he would love to keep in contact with Harry and tell him more about his parents. He also expressed how sorry he was for keeping out of his life for the past ten years, but Professor Dumbledore had informed him that to not endanger Harry's location, he should keep his distance. Harry had written him that he didn't care about his 'furry little problem' once a month and that that shouldn't be a reason to keep away. He was glad that he now had somebody to send letters to. Hedwig had also become a bit bored. She liked flying a good distance to stretch her wings from time to time.

* * *

On Saturday morning, the try-outs had been placed on the weekend where no muggle classes were held, Harry and Lisa went down to the Quidditch pitch at ten for the tryout. There were about twenty others that also wanted to get one of the five open positions in the team.

"Okay, welcome to the Ravenclaw try-outs. I'm Daniel Barkaim, the captain for those that didn't already know. I play seeker for the team. This is Pomarel Oustabler, he plays keeper. We will test you for the three open chaser spots, the two open beater spots and the keeper spot as Pomarel won't play the last game of the season because he takes his NEWTs this year and the last game preparation would collide with his studying for the NEWTs. We here in Ravenclaw work by the philosophy, always prepared.

"I won't lie to you, a new team always is at a disadvantage compared to one that either has already played together for a year or only has to incorporate one or two new players. This season we will be the underdogs for the cup, but never say never. Our main competition will be the teams of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Hufflepuff has three new players to train, so they are in a similar situation to us. Now I want you to separate into groups for the position you would like to play at. Chasers left, next beaters, then keepers. If anybody wants to try out for seeker, next to that, I'll see if you are good enough to be a reserve for me in case I can't play." Daniel organized them.

Harry moved to the chaser group, Lisa to the keeper group. Unknown to Daniel Harry had asked Madam Hooch if he could get one of the school brooms and work on making it fit for the tryout. He had shown the finished result to Madam Hooch the previous evening, he had used the spells in the book Hagrid had given him for his birthday, and she had declared the broom safe to use. Harry had clipped the twigs, exchanged a few twigs that were too damaged to correct and had renewed the hover charm. More he couldn't do yet, but he guessed he had done his best to get a better broom. The hover charm was a second year charm, but after four tries, Harry had got it right.

Daniel let the group of chasers fly three laps around the field first, then the beaters did the same, followed by the keepers and the one reserve seeker aspirant. He made short notes on every person on a clipboard. Then he let the beaters show their skill with one of the bludgers. There were six people trying out for beater. They were tasked to smack the bludgers back and forth between them. After Daniel had sorted out two second years, the remaining four had to aim bludgers at targets Daniel shouted on a whim. In the end he had Steven Remmons, a fourth year, and Tod Gellan, a third year as his new beaters.

Next were the chasers. Each of them got five shoots on the hoops which were protected by Pomarel. First up was Roger Davies, a fourth year. He got two of his shots in. Pomarel was a really good keeper. Next was Millia Weatherstone, a fifth year. She had one goal. It continued. Harry was last of the ten to try out for chaser. When it was his turn, only one fourth year, Quentana Pollianore had managed to get three goals in. Roger Davies was still second best. Harry flew up with the quaffle. He shot towards the goal and treated this like a penalty shooting in football only with three choices for goal. He slightly shifted his body to the left, seeing that Pomarel had taken the bait he threw the quaffle through the right hoop. First goal. His next try he knew Pomarel would be more aware of his possible fainting attempt, so he would get out another trick.

He raised his hand to throw the quaffle to the centre hoop, Pomarel reacted appropriately and was in position, but the ball got a spin from Harry's hand, which let it go through the left hoop. Second goal. He again started his attack on the hoops. He could see Pomarel was annoyed now that a first-year had already got two goals in against him, a seventh-year. Harry now decided to use speed position changing. Pomarel was forced to always change position. Harry shot. The throw looked like it would miss the hoop and go through the space between the centre and the right hoop, but the last moment, the quaffle turned and hit the metal ring, not going through the hoop, but falling down, where Pomarel caught it.

Harry saw the astonished look on the keepers face. With a bit more training for trick shoots from a broom he would get that trick down. His next try was a power-play move. He feinted right, Pomarel saw the feint, Harry threw at the left hoop, the quaffle rebounded from Pomarel's broom-tail but Harry had counted on that, was ready to take the rebound and placed the quaffle in the centre hoop. Third goal.

"Is he really just a firstie, Daniel?" Quentana asked awed.

"Yes, but I've heard that his father was one of the best chasers Gryffindor ever had. He must have inherited the talent. That's great, especially as he only had his first flying lesson last week. Imagine how good he will be with proper training." Daniel said grinning.

"Huh, he never before sat on a broom?" She asked shocked.

"Yes, he is muggle raised. Fantastic performance. We just need to see if he can play in a formation of three." Daniel said ecstatic. How Wood would curse that Harry hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor like most assumed he would be.

Harry got his last shot in, which made four goals for him.

The next thing Daniel had them train was passing the quaffle in formation. Here Harry's school broom proved to be a disadvantage as the faster brooms of the other aspirants made him look worse than them.

"This doesn't do. Potter, get down here." Daniel shouted and Harry flew down.

"Take this broom. I want to see what you can really do and not what the snail of a school-broom lets you do." He said holding out his broom.

"You really let me use your broom?" Harry asked disbelievingly.

"Don't disappoint me." Daniel said and Harry nodded, taking the Comet 260 and went back up. Now that he had a chance to match the speed of the other chasers he managed to get into formation without problem and passed the quaffle with precision. All his football training was now a big advantage.

Daniel sent the keeper aspirants up and let them test their abilities against different chains of chasers. Lisa did well, but the others were simply better. After the tryout was over Daniel called all those he hadn't yet sorted out together.

"Okay, thanks to all of you for coming to the try-outs. I'll just tell you who got the free spots and who was chosen for reserve. Beaters are Steven Remmons and Tod Gellan with Willow Fassix as reserve. Chasers are Quentana Pollianore, Roger Davies and Harry Potter with Denise Thompson as reserve. Keeper is Pomarel Oustabler with Releena Selwyn as reserve and I'm seeker with Cho Chang as reserve. Those that didn't make the team, don't take it too hard." Daniel said.

Harry was grinning happily. He had done it. He was on the Quidditch team.

"Potter, make sure you quickly get a proper broom, you can't train with the school-brooms." Daniel reminded Harry.

"Will do, Barkaim." Harry responded.

* * *

Harry went to Madam Hooch, returned the school-broom and told her he had been accepted as chaser for Ravenclaw. She congratulated him and told him she would inform Professor Flitwick.

"Do you have an idea what kind of broom you want to get?" She asked.

"Yes, a Nimbus 2000. It has the best performance for the chaser position." Harry answered.

"Good choice. Well, I guess you'll want to tell your friends the good news." She said and shooed him away.

When Harry returned to Ravenclaw tower, Lisa had already spread the news of him making the team. The other first years, which saw him as something akin to their leader, assembled and congratulated him. Harry thanked them and donated a box of twenty chocolate frogs to them. They sat together and Harry and Lisa retold the tryout. When they went down to lunch around one, other Ravenclaws also congratulated Harry, which he accepted with a smile.

* * *

By Monday morning the whole school knew that Harry Potter, a first-year, had made the Ravenclaw Quidditch team. Harry tried to just politely sit it out, but sometimes he couldn't help but proudly tell about some of his successful shoots. He had found out that Quidditch and flying was something that gave him an exhilarating feeling. He had loved playing football at primary school, but this was even better. And it had the double effect to have his housemates like him even more. Some others were noticeably jealous about him being accepted into the Quidditch team, but nobody could say he wouldn't be able to combine the training for the team and the workload from classes. It was a well-known fact that he was ahead of his peers. The ones who stood out mostly with their criticism were Ron Weasley and Zacharias Smith. Both were the generally jealous types and Harry had the impression that Weasley took it as a personal insult that he hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor. Smith was just nasty and didn't like if others were better than him. And Harry excelled at everything.

Much to the frustration of Hermione Granger, Harry was the top of class in his year. She was used to being at the top of her classes, but here Harry was, the Boy-Who-Could-Simply-Do-Everything-Without-Problem . But she still couldn't dislike him. When she had asked how he did magic so easily, he had just told her his method. He had told her which books she should get for potions to get the best possible results. And his advice for getting to know people had got her her first real friend in Miranda Lillowe, her roommate in Gryffindor. They were five girls in their dorm, herself, Miranda, Parvati Patil, Lavender Brown and Cecilia Robards. The last three were more interested in fashion and cosmetics than their studies, but they were okay. Miranda was more outgoing than herself, but still didn't neglect her work. She didn't do the amount of extra work Hermione did, she wasn't interested in being the best, but she wanted to do well in her classes.

She informed Hermione about her secret. Time management. Miranda had learned from her mother how to best organize her time so she could have fun with the rest of it after her homework was done. Miranda was perfectly content with getting over eighty per cent in her classes and that was it. While Hermione couldn't yet accept that for herself, she was too competitive for that, she had taken up a more relaxed attitude. Both girls had also connected someway with Neville Longbottom, whom Miranda had decided had potential that just needed to be coaxed out of him. And she had been proven right, Neville had potential. With the attention from Hermione and Miranda, he gave away that he was really knowledgeable in Herbology. His main problem was his insecurity his family had instilled in him.

But despite all Hermione's and Miranda's coaching Neville had problems with the wanded subjects and Potions. He did well enough in Astronomy and History of Magic. Hermione had even managed to get him into Science and Literature where he was doing well too. Therefore Miranda one day after dinner pulled Neville after her, followed by Hermione towards the Ravenclaw table.

"Hi, Potter. I'm Miranda Lillowe; I think you already know Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom?" She asked.

"Yes, I do, nice meeting you, Lillowe. What can I do for you? I guess there is a reason why you were pulling Longbottom after you." Harry said.

"Indeed. Well, as the acknowledged magical genius of our year, I wanted to ask you if you could help us finding out why Neville has so many problems in the wanded subjects. Potions I can understand, he's too afraid what Professor Snape would do if he messed up and then messes up really badly. But we have tried different methods of explaining him a spell and it just doesn't help." Miranda explained.

"I see, come on, let's go to one of the unused classrooms and I'll see if I can spot the reason. If you really put so much effort in your work it should at least have had some effects." Harry said. "Terry, would you mind taking my bag with you to Ravenclaw tower?" Harry asked his seat neighbour.

"No, no problem, Harry." Terry answered, taking another portion of apple pie, today's dessert.

Harry led them towards the Transfiguration corridor. He knew that two doors behind the classroom was another, unused one.

"Why are there so many unused classrooms here by the way?" Miranda asked.

"The main reason is the war against Voldemort. During that time many young witches and wizards died before they had children or only had one child like in Susan Bones' and my cases. Other families, mainly the pureblood ones, tend to only have one magical child. Good examples are the Malfoys, the Parkinsons, the Crabbes, the Goyles and so on. That reduced the number of children born immensely. Hagrid told me that the year after next a massively higher number of first years will start. There has been a baby boom after Voldemort fell." Harry explained.

Neville shuddered when Harry used Voldemort's name. They went into the class room and Harry closed the door behind them.

"Okay, what spells did you try?" He asked.

"Mainly the hair colour changing spell and the easy transfiguration spells we learned in the first two lessons." Hermione answered.

"Okay, let's start with the colour changing charm. Longbottom, try changing Granger's hair to blond." Harry said.

"Why blond?" Hermione complained.

"Don't you like blond? I thought it would go well with your eyes. After all, you could never fall into the dumb blonde trap." Harry said smiling.

Hermione blushed. Damn that smile and those big, shining green eyes. That was just not fair that she reacted like that whenever he did that. Why did a boy have to have those eyes?

Neville tried to concentrate like Hermione and Miranda had told him to do. He spoke the incantation and made the wand movement he had learned, but the only effect he had was lightening Hermione's hair a bit.

"Hm, there is nothing wrong with the wand movement and the incantation, those were absolutely correct. You tried to imagine the effect, right?" He asked Neville.

"Yes, I tried to imagine the same hair colour as mine as I know that one best. Miranda said it was easiest to change the colour to something you knew well, but I just can't get it. Probably my family was right and I simply don't have enough magic." Neville sadly said.

"No, there is no way you don't have enough magic. Hogwarts doesn't send letters to those who don't have enough power or the potential to develop enough power to take their OWLs. That's not the problem." Harry pondered loudly and looked at Neville. His posture, his face and his wand.

"Neville, how long did it take until a wand chose you?" Harry asked.

"Huh, what do you mean? This was my Dad's wand. Gran gave it to me and said I should use it to make my Dad proud and be more like him." Neville answered confused.

"Then that's the problem probably. Your wand isn't compatible. Ollivander told me the wand chooses the wizard and that you could never get as good results with another wizard's wand as with your own when I bought mine. I want you to concentrate on your magic, collect as much magic as you can, it doesn't matter how long it takes, then use the spell again." Harry said.

If he was right with that much power the spell would work and Neville would need a new wand. Neville concentrated with all his might, tried to feel power building up. After five minutes he did the spell again and a bright ray of light shot out of his wand towards Hermione and coloured her hair blond with red strands. Harry had a big smile on his face, Neville looked shocked and Miranda awed.

"I was right. For you to even manage to do a spell you need to concentrate abnormally high amounts of magic. You have to force your wand to work for you, not let it help you. It's not a question of you not having enough magic; the result on Granger's head definitely shows us that, but that you can't simply concentrate on learning the spells because you also have to fight your wand. Talk to your head of house, Professor McGonagall, and explain the problem to her. With how much that wand seems to dislike working for you, you'll never reach your potential, Longbottom. And one piece of advice. Ignore what your family tells you. You will never get where you could be if you listen to them telling you that you can't achieve anything.

"I know what I am talking about, because I was forced for three years to pretend being stupid at school to not outshine Dudley, my cousin. He is a fat, stupid and lazy bully. But he's his parent's darling and therefore I wasn't allowed to be better at school. Whenever something didn't go like he wanted it to, he complained to his parents and mostly I took the brunt of the anger of Petunia and Vernon. Once I realized that nothing I did changed how they treated me, I stopped holding back. What could they really do? Punish me? They already did that. If I got punished anyway, I wanted it to be for something I really did, not something that Dudley made up. I hate that stupid pig and I hate his parents. But I decided to show them." Harry declared passionately.

"From what you told me, your family, while not as bad as mine, hindered you. Your grandmother seems to want you to be your father, which you never can be. Forget trying to be Frank Longbottom. You will **never** be. You are **Neville** Longbottom. Frank **and** Alice Longbottom's **son. **You inherited traits from both your parents, just like everybody does. I definitely have my Dad's looks, but mum's eyes and seemingly most of her personality. Find out who you are. Get yourself a fitting wand. Show them what you can do. And if they don't like it, ignore them. I've heard from Hannah you're good at Herbology. Excel there. There is nearly nothing a good amount of work can't help you get over.

"And your problem with Snape. He's only that nasty if he thinks you are bumbling around in his subject. True, he dislikes Gryffindor more than other houses, but then he doesn't like any students but his Slytherins really. I think some of his favouritism is to smooth out the prejudices Slytherin house is confronted with because Voldemort was once in that house. Well, that's the past, we can't change it, but with the right leading not all Slytherins are evil. I get along pretty well with Blaize Zabini and Theodore Nott. And the girls of course." He added.

"You get along with all girls, Potter." Miranda snorted.

"What can I say, it's a talent. Back to your problem in potions. Prepare for that class more than for any other. If you are sure of what you do, you will be less afraid of what Snape will do if you mess up. He won't be nice, that's not in his range of personality traits I think, but if he treats you neutrally, you can normally get through Potions well enough. What is your dream?" Harry asked Neville.

Neville was shocked. Nobody had ever asked him about his dream. He had never told it to anybody, thinking they would laugh at him.

"Neville, I promise I won't laugh about your dream." Harry said sincerely, intentionally switching to the first name.

"Neither will I." Hermione added.

"Me too." Miranda said.

Neville looked at his two friends and Harry. Finally he opened his mouth.

"I want to become a healer and use my knowledge about plants to heal my parents from their mental damage." He answered.

"That's a great dream Neville. If you keep it in mind, and put all your effort into it, you'll manage it." Harry said.

Neville looked shocked that Harry Potter seemed to believe in him.

"Definitely and don't forget you have us at your side. If you struggle we will kick your butt in the right direction." Miranda said.

"While I would phrase it differently, Miranda is right. We will support you. Do you want to tell us what happened to put them into that state?" Hermione asked timidly.

Harry knew this was hard for Neville, but if he could overcome the past, he could look into the future. Neville shook. He didn't want to think about it. It hurt so much knowing they didn't even recognize him. And then his grandmother always reminding him on their state and that he should be proud of them. He was proud, but he would rather have his parents back to normal than being proud of them.

"You don't need to, we won't force you. But if they know, they'll easier understand you." Harry said.

"You know?" Neville asked with wide eyes.

"Yes, I do." Harry said.

"But how?" Neville asked.

Harry sighed. This would also reveal some of his secrets. But Neville needed to know that he wasn't the only one to have had a hard life and that it was possible to get out of there.

"When Professor McGonagall came to my house after I sent a reply to my Hogwarts letter to get more information about Hogwarts because I also had five offers from renowned private muggle schools that had offered me scholarships for my grades and my football abilities, she took me to Diagon Alley to get me some books so I could get more information. I guess they really wanted me to come to Hogwarts. Well, as it is one of the best schools in the world I can attend until OWLs, there are some that offer more subjects after that, I don't mind so much, but I wanted to be sure. I told you the Dursleys, whom I lived with, were nasty and punished me, well they were downright abusive until I frightened them so much with a bit of accidental magic that they didn't dare to touch me anymore. It will probably go through the news soon as they will have to defend themselves at court.

"I just wanted to get out of there because they had kept me ignorant of magic all my life. I feared once they knew they couldn't lie to me anymore things would get worse again. So I told Professor McGonagall some of the things that had happened to me. She took me to St. Mungo's and the result of the diagnosis spell was enough for Healer Ickings to keep me there for a few days, file an official removal order for me from the Dursleys and send the results of the examination to both the muggle and magical governmental departments that are responsible for cases like mine."

He concentrated looked on the floor.

"When Professor Dumbledore came to visit me, I asked why I had been placed with the Dursleys. The main reason was a form of ancient protection my mum gave me through her sacrifice. It seems if somebody sacrifices himself out of love, fully aware that it will mean his death even if being offered to be spared, the strongest possible protection against the one who spilled the blood of the one who sacrificed himself will be created. My mum died to protect me; therefore Voldemort couldn't harm me where I lived as long as I could call the place where my mother's blood lived home. The protection was broken when I declared that the Dursley's house wasn't my home only my place of residence. I asked why nobody got me out once things had calmed down and the Death Eaters who posed a threat to me were imprisoned.

"Well, there were some people that should have taken care of me. First was my godfather Sirius Black. He was imprisoned without a trial and I seriously doubt his guilt with how flimsy the evidence is. My guess is somebody wanted either to look good to the masses or that somebody wanted him out of the way. Next was Remus Lupin who has a medical condition that makes it impossible for him to look after a child. Third was Peter Pettigrew, who was supposedly killed by Sirius Black. As I said, I doubt Sirius' guilt as nobody who was killed by a blasting hex would only remain in form of a finger. From witnesses they stood at some distance when Sirius supposedly fired the hex. Even at point blank a blasting hex, no matter how powerful can't destroy a body so completely, not even with the gas explosion that happened because of a hit gas line. The muggles that stood closer to the explosion and died were found with complete, sometimes separated, but charred corpses, but from Peter who was farther away couldn't be found more remains than a finger? That simply is impossible. And if it is impossible that Peter's body was completely destroyed by that combination, then he has got to be somewhere.

"I think that Peter set Sirius up and somehow, I don't know how yet, got away. With magic many things are possible. Apparition, a transformation, a trick. I think the only one who knows is Sirius Black and Professor Dumbledore is close to getting him a trial finally. It helps that I can blackmail the Minister with public uproar. My name is important in the wizarding world after all. Well, back to the point. The next on the list, were your parents, Neville, the last one was Dorcas Meadowes. He told me why the first five were unable to take care of me and I found out that Dorcas Meadowes was killed by Voldemort when I asked Hagrid. That's the reason I know what happened to them." Harry ended his lengthy explanation.

Neville was stunned. Not only had Harry had a similarly hard life like him, he was probably one of the few people who could understand what he felt about his parents. If Harry could be this strong despite what had happened to him, couldn't he as well? He took a deep breath. This was hard, but Harry had revealed much of his past, how could he not?

"My parents were tortured to insanity by Death Eaters after the fall of V-V-Vol-Volde-Voldem-Voldemort." Neville finally brought out and Harry smiled encouragingly at him.

"They were aurors; they chased Death Eaters and the also worked with Professor Dumbledore in the fight against them. The Death Eaters that came to our house, Rodolphus, Rastaban and Bellatrix Lestrange and Barty Crouch Jr used one of the … unforgivable curses … the cruciatus curse … on them. They wanted information about where V-V-Volde-Voldemort was. They used the curse many times. The curse makes you feel … unimaginable pain. And if you are under it for too long … there can be nerve damage. That's what happened to my parents. They are in St Mungo's … in a long term ward. The healers say there is nothing that can be done, … but I don't believe that. There has to be a way to heal them.

"My family doesn't understand why I can't give up on them. They always tell me it is impossible to get them back and that I should be proud to be the son of heroes like them and live up to their example. But I just want them back. Want that they recognize me again. Talk to me. My Gran thinks I'm stupid to keep the gum wrappers that mum gives me every visit, but … but they are the … the only present … I ever … got from her." Neville said.

Hermione had tears in her eyes and spontaneously hugged Neville. He looked confused as if he hadn't been hugged for a long time if ever. When she let him go, she, to Harry's absolute surprise hugged him too. Harry tensed. He still had problems with sudden physical contact. He awkwardly returned the hug.

"If this wouldn't be the worst time to make a joke I could say something about finally having found something the great Harry Potter isn't good at." Miranda said, trying to loosen the mood.

Harry had to smirk at that.

Hermione let Harry go and stood back next to Neville.

"Okay, I'll talk with Professor McGonagall if there is a way for me to get to Ollivander to get my own wand. I have saved enough to buy one. If my Gran thinks I'll dishonour Dad, she can talk all she wants to. I think mum and Dad would have wanted me to have my own wand." Neville said defiantly.

"That's the spirit, Neville." Harry said.

"Thanks, Potter." He answered.

"I think you should all just call me Harry. With how much I told you, I guess I can call you at least friendly acquaintances. I don't make friends easily so please don't expect me to call you friends until I really know you." Harry said.

"We understand." Miranda said. "And don't worry, we won't tell anything what you just told us."

"Yes, we promise." Hermione confirmed.

"Thanks. I wouldn't like the whole school to talk about it. It's bad enough that they'll find out the rough outline soon as the trial will be of public interest." Harry admitted.

* * *

**Okay, that was a really long chapter, hope you liked it. Till next time.**


	10. Horrors of Halloween

**Hi everybody, here is chapter 10. Thanks for all the reviews to those that left them. **

**For those that ask for a speedier update, this story simply ****takes **longer to get the chapters ready as they are longer, so for now probably updates once a month. Despite that, happy reading.

* * *

**Horrors of Halloween**

Professor McGonagall was surprised to have three of her Gryffindor first-years visit her in her office.

"Miss Granger, Miss Lillowe and Mr Longbottom, what can I do for you?" She asked.

"I wanted to ask if you could arrange for me to go to Diagon Alley for me to get my own wand. My Gran said I should use my Dad's old wand to honour him, but from what we found out after asking Harry if he had an idea just why I couldn't get the spells we learned in Charms and Transfiguration to work for me, Dad's wand is incompatible with me. I had to concentrate a huge amount of magic for a few minutes until I got a colour changing charm on Hermione's hair to work and then I overloaded the spell." Neville said pointing at the still decoloured hair of his friend.

To say Professor McGonagall was angry with Augusta Longbottom was an understatement. To force her grandson to come to school with an incompatible wand wouldn't only be detrimental for his performance in class it would also undermine his already shaky confidence. She would definitely change that.

"Of course we can arrange that. Let me think. You are in the Wednesday Astronomy classes, so you have Wednesday afternoons free. I'll see if Hagrid can take you to Diagon Alley then to get you a proper wand. To not let you have your own wand; don't worry, I'll send Augusta a few well worded lines. She should know what problems an incompatible wand could cause. I'll inform you tomorrow at breakfast. Do you have enough money with you, or do you need to make a trip to your trust vault at Gringotts first?" She asked.

"Trust vault?" Neville asked confused.

"Don't tell me she didn't tell you about the trust vault your parents set up for you shortly after you were born. I am absolutely sure you have one. Alice and Frank and James and Lily took both you and Harry to Gringotts to open the vaults in your names. I know this because I was part of their guard to not be surprised by a Death Eater attack without additional protection for them. If she didn't tell you, ask at Gringotts if there is a possibility for you to get your own key and recall the one she has. Normally that isn't a problem. You just have to give a sample of your blood to prove who you are. As the vault is in your name and your parents stated that the vault should be yours to do with as you see fit once you turn eleven, you should have been given the key on your eleventh birthday.

"I'll tell Hagrid to take you to Gringotts. And Augusta gets a few more lines. If you want some good advice how to treat the goblins properly and in case you are interested how to manage your money successfully, I can recommend Mr Potter. I have seen how impressed the goblin who took us to his trust vault was during the first visit there. Only remember that goblins are a proud warrior race. They respect strength, cunning and if you treat them with respect as well. Never bow down though." She said.

"I will, thank you, Professor." Neville replied.

"You're welcome. And in case your grandmother reacts, let's say unpleasant, well, there are still many months until summer break." She said smirking.

Neville nodded with a small smile and the three first-years left her office. Professor McGonagall set up a rough draft for a letter. While she felt like sending a howler, she knew that wouldn't go over well with Augusta. But she was really disgusted with how she treated her grandson. She had heard the long-time rumours about Neville being a squib just because he didn't show magic early on. To put him under pressure like the Longbottoms did could only have made the problem worse. Perhaps she should let Poppy have a look at him. She didn't want to risk overlooking another case of abuse like it had happened with Harry.

* * *

Harry returned to the Ravenclaw common room where his classmates were busy playing Exploding Snap and Wizard.

"Hey, Harry, what took you so long?" Tony asked.

"I had to help Neville Longbottom with a problem. Seems like his Gran is a bit stupid about her belief he should be more like his father and sent him here with his father's wand instead of getting him his own wand. Hermione and Miranda had the idea, as I was the acknowledged genius of the year," Padma through a pillow at him, which he dodged while grinning "hey, their words, not mine, no need to vent your bottled up frustrations on me" that caused another pillow aimed at him from Sylveena, "yeah team up on the poor guy who tries to tell a story. So not fair." He complained.

The boys grinned while Harry played dodge the pillow with the girls.

"I yield." He cried out in the end, hands in the air, when they had surrounded him and were ready to pounce.

"Spoilsport." Lisa commented pouting still throwing her pillow at him.

"Continue telling the story." Michael told Harry who had caught the pillow.

"Okay, but the girls have to promise not to pelt me with pillows again." Harry asked, using his irresistible puppy eyes on the girls, who only nodded.

"Well, they had the idea to see if I had an idea how to help Neville with his casting and in Potions. The guy is a nervous wreck around Professor Snape. Well, I had Neville try to do the charm to change one's hair-colour. The plan was to make Hermione a blond. Well, he did everything right as far as I could see and I thought if the incantation was pronounced properly, the wand movements were correct and he concentrated on what he wanted to achieve, he should be able to get the charm right. The only thing I could think of was too little power, so I told him to concentrate as much magic as he could and then do the spell. Well, when the spell came out, Hermione got the blond hair and a few additional red strands. Well, as I said, it turned out that Neville has his father's wand. I advised him to ask Professor McGonagall to take him to Diagon Alley soon to get him a working wand." Harry ended the story.

"And for that you needed nearly an hour?" Lilian asked.

"No, we talked about some other things a bit, but they are private. Let's just say Neville and I have a lot of things in common." Harry said.

From his tone many guessed he spoke about his abusive childhood. They knew he didn't like to talk about that and had only told them that he had been abused so that they wouldn't ask more questions.

"So, does he get a new wand now?" Padma asked.

"I think so. I didn't accompany them to Professor McGonagall. But I can't imagine that she wouldn't make sure he gets a wand that he can use." Harry said.

* * *

Harry sat in the hospital wing next to an uncomfortable looking Neville Longbottom, both waiting for Madam Pomfrey. Harry knew why he was here, but what reason did Neville have?

"Do you also have to get vaccinations?" Harry asked.

"I don't think so; I got them regularly since I was little. Professor McGonagall said I should go here to get an examination. But I don't know for what." Neville answered.

"Ah, Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom. It's been a long time since I saw you two together in the hospital wing. I think you were about a year old and got the vaccinations against the Hippogriff measles. You both didn't like that at all and tried to squirm from Alice and Lily's arms. Well, today, you Mr Potter will get a short examination if the measures Healer Ickings had taken at St. Mungo's were successful or if you need to get a few more potions to correct the problem with your immune system. And of course your next set of vaccinations. Mr Longbottom, you will also get a complete examination. From the medical documents your grandmother sent me, your last one has been three years ago, so I thought I could just do this in one go." Madam Pomfrey explained.

She started with the diagnosis spell on Harry. This was a variant of the spell Healer Ickings had used and showed her changes since the last full diagnostic spell.

"I see, well it has improved a lot, but I would rather you take one potion for strengthening your natural immune system before breakfast each day for a week, that should get it settled. I'll inform the house elves to send it up each morning. Okay, now let's get the vaccination done." She said and got a syringe out that was already filled with the vaccine. She quickly disinfected Harry's arm on his right shoulder and set the vaccination.

"Much better than the last time." She teased.

Harry rolled his eyes. He had had worse in the meantime. Then she did the diagnosis charm on Neville. The quill noted some things and finished after two minutes. She looked at the results and frowned.

"Okay, for you we will also need a potion before the breakfast. Your core is a bit shaky from overexertion and a subconscious suppression of your magic when you were younger. You also need the next vaccination against the Grindylow flu in a month so I'll just do it now." She informed Neville.

She went to her medicine cupboard and took out a bottle and filled another syringe. She repeated the procedure for the vaccination for Neville and then let both boys leave. When she was sure they were out of hearing range, she closed up the hospital wing and went to Minerva McGonagall's office. She found the Gryffindor head of house sitting in an armchair drinking a cup of tea, next to her a pack of graded essays.

"Hello, Poppy. I guess you just finished with Mr Longbottom?" She asked.

"Yes, him and Mr Potter. I did the examinations for them together so I could down play anything I might find with Mr Longbottom as a routine check-up as his last one was three years ago. I'm glad you sent him to me, Minerva, you were right, there are signs of abuse. Nothing as bad on the physical level as Mr Potter's, but bad enough. I had a two minute result of my check." Madam Pomfrey informed McGonagall.

"That's not good. If everything is okay and the regular checks have been made it only takes about fifteen seconds with the speed of your quill." McGonagall commented.

"Indeed. I didn't want to spook the boy, so I only told him that he had to take a potion for getting his shaky core back to normal. He has subconsciously suppressed his magic in his younger years, probably a consequence of what happened to Frank and Alice. From what I know, Augusta took him to his parents in St. Mungo's every year a few times. The problem probably is that, with Neville being told that he had to live up to his parents and to be proud of their courage, he was frightened. He knew his parents had been hurt by magic, so he thought magic was bad. He didn't want to have something that could hurt others like the Death Eaters did with his parents. He was too young to understand. So he subconsciously suppressed any and all accidental magic, which in turn led to the Longbottoms thinking he could be a squib and they tried to force the magic into the open.

"The next thing the check informed me of are some incidents where his magic had to act, but he fought against it to come out. When his family tried to force his magic out they achieved the opposite. Neville's young mind connected magic with something that hurt when he was one. Now others hurt him again to get him to use it. It was overload for his mind, which is the reason he has so many problems with remembering things. I have heard from him about the incident with the remembrall he got when he was in the hospital wing after the flying accident. Those things are useless as they don't tell you what you forgot; they only let him feel worse than before because it is a visible reminder of his weakness. We can be glad that nobody teased him about it.

"Next is an overexertion of his core in the last weeks. It made his core more instable. I think that is due to the incompatible wand he had to use. It shouldn't have long-term consequences as the situation was remedied this early on. If he had continued to use Frank's wand, he would probably have really damaged his core. With how shy and insecure he is, I think it would be best if we kept him here at Hogwarts until the next summer holidays. The boy was abused, in his case it was more emotionally, but it still left scars on him, even if they aren't visible. For him to get better, he needs to get the encouragement he missed out on during his childhood. And somebody needs to talk to Augusta. She needs to be made aware that with her behaviour she is harming her grandson. I can take care of keeping Neville here over Christmas, that's within my medical competence, but if he has to deal with the abuse over the summer again, things could fall back into bad habits if nothing was arranged beforehand." Madam Pomfrey said.

"I had feared something like this when Neville, Hermione Granger and Miranda Lillowe came to me about the issue with his wand. She didn't even tell him that he had a trust vault that Alice and Frank set up for him. Hagrid took him to Diagon Alley to get this remedied with the goblins, he now has his new key to his vault and the old one was recalled. He also got his own wand. I didn't have him in class since then, so I can't tell you if it worked already though." McGonagall sighed.

"Well, good that you followed your instinct. This way we can neutralize the worst effects." Madam Pomfrey said.

Professor McGonagall just nodded.

* * *

It was Halloween. There were only two classes in the morning for the Ravenclaw first-years. First they had Herbology with Slytherin, followed by Charms with Gryffindor. Harry wasn't that excited at the prospect of the feast in the evening. Ever since his childhood he had disliked Halloween. While he couldn't really remember the murder of his parents, the Dursleys had made sure he never felt welcome at Halloween. While Dudley was taken out by his mother and father to go trick or treating, Harry was locked up in the cupboard under the stairs. Dudley had paraded around gleefully after returning and enjoyed eating all the treats he got in front of him with gleefully telling that he (Harry) wouldn't get a single thing.

Later the Dursleys had proceeded with using the day to remind him that it was that day that had brought his unwanted stay at their home. When Vernon had drunk too much that was always a painful experience. They had gone so far to insinuate that he should just have died with his parents instead of being a burden to his hard working relatives and that he could be grateful they didn't leave him at an orphanage. With every hit of the belt Harry had wished he was at an orphanage.

So now, knowing what really happened that day, Harry didn't want to celebrate. While for others it was a holiday, one of the most important in the wizarding world, and it doubled as the date when Voldemort had been defeated by him, for Harry it meant the start of his personal hell. Ten years of abuse because his parents had been murdered by Voldemort. Many overlooked that Halloween had made him an orphan and robbed him the chance to grow up loved. When the Ravenclaws took their seats in the Charms classroom after getting back inside after re-potting some plants in greenhouse one, the Gryffindors also entered.

The lesson was about the levitation charm. Professor Flitwick reminded them of the wand movement they had practiced. The swish and flick. Harry, like usual, managed to do the charm on the first attempt.

"Oh, look, Mr Potter has done it, ten points for Ravenclaw." Professor Flitwick said.

Then three more feathers rose. This time it was the feathers from Hermione, Neville and Miranda.

"Ah, three more successful attempts. Take five points each for Gryffindor." He delightedly said.

That was normal procedure in Flitwick's class. The one to first get a spell got ten points, those that were second got five points. Harry noticed that Hermione's partner Ron Weasley didn't look happy at all. To be honest, he looked downright pissed. What could be the reason? Well, he would have fun with his floating feather for now, trying to push the date back in his mind. He directed his feather over to Neville's and looked at the blond boy challenging. Neville nodded and took the challenge. They both used their wands to have their feathers race each other around the classroom.

"A very good demonstration of control over the charm, Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom. Take another five points for your house each. As you seem to have mastered levitating a feather, try it with something heavier." He instructed.

Harry took different things from his bag; he first folded a paper-airplane and sent that flying around. Then other students managed to let their feathers float and Harry played obstacle course with his paper-airplane through the feathers. Now he saw Weasley glaring at him and Hermione. He wondered just what the redhead's problem was. Finally the lesson was over and as it was Halloween Professor Flitwick let them go without homework. The Ravenclaws were the first to leave the room. They went to have lunch, but Harry couldn't eat much and left the table quickly. He went in the direction of their common room. He went to his room, opened the window and let Hedwig inside. She seemed to have felt that he didn't feel well today and was there to keep him company.

"Thanks, Hedwig. I could use some company that doesn't seem to be influenced by the Halloween mania." He told her morosely.

She hooted and nuzzled his cheek with her head. Harry just stroked her and that was how Rick found him. Lost in his thoughts, stroking Hedwig.

"Hey, Harry, are you okay?" Rick asked concerned.

"Not really, but you can't help me. It's just the day." Harry said looking up with pain in his eyes.

Rick thought about it shortly and then understood.

"Sorry, I never really thought what this day would mean for you. Do you want to be alone?" He asked.

"If you don't mind. I don't want to spoil anybody's fun, but I simply can't celebrate Halloween." Harry answered. Hedwig gave him and assuring hoot which made him smile a little bit.

* * *

In the evening the great feast was commencing, but there were two students missing. Hermione Granger was absent at the Gryffindor table, Miranda and Neville were glaring at the clueless Ron Weasley. And at the Ravenclaw table Harry Potter was missing. When Dumbledore opened the feast, he noticed Harry missing.

"Filius, where is Mr Potter? Surely he wouldn't want to miss the feast?" He asked.

"Damn, Miss Granger is also missing. I just noticed when you said that Mr Potter was missing and I counted the heads on my table. Let me ask Mr Longbottom and Miss Lillowe. They will probably know where she is. Perhaps Filius can do the same with Mr Potter's friends." McGonagall said.

Both she and Flitwick stood up and walked towards the first-years. When they returned Flitwick looked solemn and McGonagall furious.

"What did you find out?" Dumbledore asked.

"Mr Potter is in his room with his owl. He isn't hungry and doesn't want to celebrate Halloween as it is the day his parents were murdered." Flitwick said, making some of the teachers curse themselves for not thinking about that.

"Miss Granger is in a toilet crying because Mr Weasley said some really repulsive things to her after Charms class. From what Mr Longbottom told me, he called Miss Granger horrible names and said that she didn't really have friends and that those she thought that were her friends were only staying around her to get an easy helper for their schoolwork. Miss Lillowe tried to get her out of the toilet, but she wouldn't come out. I already took twenty points from Mr Weasley and I think a detention with Argus will make him think just what he says in the future." McGonagall informed the others.

"Oh my, I had noticed that he was angry in Charms. Miss Granger had tried to help him with the levitation charm, but he didn't get it and when she did the charm correctly just after Mr Potter, he got even angrier. But I didn't think it would lead to something like this." Flitwick said.

* * *

Meanwhile Harry had decided to take a little walk to the owlery. He wanted to get some exercise, only sitting on his bed didn't work to calm him down from his feelings. Hedwig sat on his shoulder. She wouldn't leave him today. When they walked down the staircase to change from the wing the Ravenclaw common room was in to the one with the owlery, they heard a loud noise. Harry wondered what was happening and walked there. Did Peeves cause mayhem again? It would be like him, especially on Halloween. But what Harry saw wasn't Peeves; it was a twelve foot mountain troll. Harry's first instinct was running away, but then when the troll trudged into a room, he heard a female scream he knew. That was Hermione's voice. He quickly took out a piece of parchment and a pen and scribbled a note that he needed help.

"Hedwig, quickly get this to the Great Hall to Professor Dumbledore. I need the teachers up here." He said.

Hedwig nodded and took off as fast as she could. Harry only saw one chance for him; he needed to distract the troll from Hermione. That room was a bathroom. Hermione would be caught inside if the troll passed the door completely.

"Hey, ugly. Why don't you take on somebody who can fight back?" He shouted.

The troll ignored him.

Harry didn't want to get in close; the troll was massively stronger than him. He looked around and saw one of the suits of armour. He had the perfect idea. He quickly ran over there and crashed it on the ground. The troll, having reacted to the noise, looked towards him. Harry had the helmet placed at his foot and lifted his right leg back and kicked the helmet at the troll's head with all his strength. The troll got the helmet directly on his nose and his eyes and was yelling out in pain. Then his eyes, swollen now from the hit, concentrated on Harry and he roared and came running at him with his club raised. Harry sped off towards the staircases. From there the teachers would come. It worked to a degree. Harry was faster than the troll thanks to his years of football training.

The troll followed Harry, but when he was about to run down, the stairs changed directions and his only choice to escape was running up again. He just hoped he would soon get help. From downstairs he heard voices of the teachers shouting, but he didn't hear what they said. He just kept running. Then Hedwig appeared in front of him and grabbed his collar. He felt strange. As if the weight of his body didn't exist anymore. The troll had cornered him. He needed to get away, but behind him was the troll running at him and in front of him the not existing staircase that really seemed to hate him right now. He had planned running down from here before it moved away just a few seconds prior.

'Jump!' He heard a shout in his head.

While he normally wouldn't listen to voices in his head he didn't know, he was in a dire situation. He either could jump and hope whatever Hedwig had done would protect him or get smashed. Even if he did fall, it was only a distance of ten metres, nothing more than broken bones would result from that and Madam Pomfrey could heal those in a minute. So Harry pushed forwards from the platform and suddenly knew what Hedwig had meant with 'Jump!' He was so light that he glided down to the platform under him. It wasn't like flying; he was just too light to take damage from the landing. His feet landed on the platform and he was greeted by the concerned Professor Sprout. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick and Snape were shooting spells at the troll while running up the stairs.

But just when it seemed they had the upper hand, a giant Cerberus crashed onto the platform where they were battling the troll. Where the hell did a Cerberus come from? The Cerberus saw the troll as his most problematic enemy though and started attacking it, ending the former work of the Professors. When the troll lay bloody on the floor, the Cerberus turned to the others. The Professors seemed to be too shocked to really react. In Harry's mind flashed a memory.

_Flashback_

"_Who is Fluffy?" Harry asked, not being capable of imagining anything called Fluffy scaring the Dursleys._

"_A three headed dog I got from a Greek chappie a while ago. Real softy he is, yer only need ter know how ter handle him. Play 'im a bit of music an' he falls asleep. Mos' magical creatures are only misunderstood, I think. Look at 'em callin' Thestrals dangerous creatures. Only 'cause they can only be seen by those who've seen death. Thestrals can look after 'emselves. Ministry fools don' like tha'. We've a 'hole herd at Hogwarts. They pull the carriages for the students when they come with the Hogwarts Express every year." Hagrid said while they walked through the part of London where St. Mungo's was located towards Diagon Alley._

Flashback end

Harry knew that this was probably Fluffy. So he opened his mouth and started singing the first song that came to his mind.

_Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,  
__That saved a wretch like me,  
__I once was lost, but now I'm found  
__Was blind, but now I see.__  
_

'_T was grace that taught my heart to fear  
__And grace my fears relieved  
__How precious did that grace appear?  
__The hour I first believed.__  
_

Fluffy seemed to sway on his feet and Harry continued singing.

_Through many dangers toils and snares  
__I have already come  
_'_T was grace that brought me safe thus far  
__And grace will lead me home.__  
_

Fluffy was now peacefully sleeping and Dumbledore conjured a harp to keep playing music while he levitated the Cerberus back into the third floor corridor. Snape was following him. Harry meanwhile began shaking like a leaf. His adrenaline that had been sky high was falling now. Professor Sprout saw the problem and sat him on the floor.

"Breath deep in and out, Mr Potter, you are safe now, the troll has been dealt with. You reacted fabulously to the Cerberus. How did you know what to do?" She asked, trying to distract him.

"Hagrid told me about Fluffy. He falls asleep when he hears music. The only thing I could think of was singing." Harry said.

"That was a beautiful song. I've never heard it before. What is it called?" She asked.

From downstairs Madam Pomfrey was running upstairs.

"It's called Amazing Grace. It's a muggle song. I always liked to sing at school, but my cousin made always fun of me for being girly." Harry answered embarrassed.

"I don't think it's girly. You also have a very nice singing voice." She praised him.

Harry couldn't help but blush. He didn't get many compliments like that. Madam Pomfrey reached them.

"Hermione, she was in that toilet." Harry then remembered in panic again. "Somebody needs to look for her. I managed to distract the troll before it could get in there and led it here to the stairs as I thought Hedwig would bring the teachers here."

"Don't worry, Mr Potter. Professor Vector has gone to get her. She will escort her to the hospital wing. And you will also accompany me there. You have a shock and it will be best if you get to lie down and take a calming draught." Madam Pomfrey said soothingly.

"Can't I just go to my room in Ravenclaw tower and sleep there?" He asked pleadingly.

"No, I'm sorry; I want to observe you over the night. Especially as we don't know if what your familiar did to prevent you from breaking all the bones in your legs has after-effects." Madam Pomfrey insisted.

'It was perfectly safe.' He heard the voice from before that he now knew belonged to Hedwig.

"Thank you, Hedwig." He said, caressing the plumage of his owl.

'You're welcome, but you can answer me in your mind, then others can't hear what you say to me.' She replied.

'Like this?' Harry asked trying it.

'Yes, that's it. I'm happy that we now can really talk with each other.' She said.

'I like this too. What did you do? I felt like a feather when you took my collar.' Harry asked.

'That's more or less what I did. I have the ability to influence the weight of things. I can either turn things feather-light or make them weigh as much as a boulder.' She explained. 'I'm still learning all about my powers. With every full moon I learn more.'

"Mr Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Sorry, I was talking to Hedwig." He answered.

"But you didn't say a thing." She commented.

"We can mind talk." Harry explained. "She said she turned me feather-light and that it wasn't harmful but perfectly safe. And right now I'm feeling like I normally feel, well my weight that is."

"Very interesting. But now, I'll take you to the hospital wing. No complaints anymore." She ordered.

"Yes, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said resignedly.

* * *

Quirinius Quirrell was silently cursing. His plan to get more information and perhaps even make an attempt at the Philosopher's Stone had failed. While everything had gone to plan when he stormed into the Great Hall, announcing that a troll was in the dungeons and pretending to faint, things then went to hell. That moon owl of the Potter boy had swooped into the hall, flown directly at Dumbledore and gave him a note. Dumbledore called all the teachers except Babbling, Sinistra, Tonks and Burbage to follow him upstairs as Harry Potter was currently confronted with the troll, it had to have gone upstairs from the dungeons.

After that, he had just managed to leave the Great Hall unnoticed from the teachers keeping watch over the students. He sped towards the third floor. Hopefully he would have enough time to look what was behind the door. But there he only was confronted with a monstrous Cerberus. The dog attacked him and injured him in the leg. He jumped behind the door, which led to the Cerberus running along the floor towards the noise in the direction of the stairs. He looked out from behind the door and saw an empty corridor. Damn that dog, now he couldn't go farther with his leg like it was. And they would soon send somebody here to ensure the safety of the stone. He saw that there was a trapdoor in the room, which would lead down to the next obstacle probably. He didn't know whose was next and what it was.

The uproar in the direction of the stairs suddenly ended. Then footsteps came closer. It were two persons. Quirrell didn't wait until they were close enough to see him or even hear him, he retreated deeper back, as fast as his leg could carry him. This was a failure. A complete and utter failure. His master wouldn't be pleased.

* * *

Dumbledore, followed by Snape, who kept the harp playing, levitated Fluffy back into the room.

"Somebody tried to get inside, headmaster." Snape said.

"Indeed. But Fluffy must have been a nasty surprise for him. Look, here is blood on the floor." He pointed out.

"Yes, we should follow the trail as soon as the beast is back in his place. By the way, don't you think it would be a bit unsafe to just keep the door locked? I mean now that many more people know about the beast's weakness." Snape reminded Dumbledore.

"Yes, I was really surprised to see and hear Harry singing like that. A truly beautiful song, even if a bit sad. I guess Hagrid must have mentioned Fluffy to Harry before I told him to keep anything regarding the Cerberus a secret to use him as a protection for the stone." Dumbledore mused.

"In this case his habit to talk rather much was an advantage. With Potter reacting that quickly we didn't need to injure the Cerberus and it can retake his guarding position for now."

Dumbledore locked the door again and he and Snape went following the trail of blood until it stopped abruptly.

"He noticed the trail he left and either vanished the blood from here on or managed to stop the bleeding." Snape observed.

"Well, we won't find him now. Let's return and see how Harry and Miss Granger are." Dumbledore said.

"I will leave that to you. I will return to the Great Hall and look after my house." Snape said and left.

* * *

In the Great Hall the students were talking with each other, scared about the troll. The four teachers that had been left to keep watch and in case the troll managed to get past the other teachers somehow, tried to keep people calm. Then finally Professor Snape returned and walked towards the podium in front of the head table. All eyes were on him.

"The troll has been dealt with and doesn't pose a threat anymore. All houses are to follow their prefects back to their common rooms. The Ravenclaws and Gryffindors should take the alternative routes that avoid the main staircase as there are still cleaning up and repairs to do. Nobody was hurt by the troll as far as we know at the moment." He said.

"What about Harry and Hermione?" Neville asked.

"Mr Potter wasn't hurt, but is being treated in the hospital wing for a shock after leading away the troll from Miss Granger's position. She too is being treated for a shock. That is all I know about that. Now return to your common rooms." Snape said and walked over to the Slytherin table and gave his prefects more instructions.

Slowly all the students left the Great Hall.

* * *

The next morning when Harry awoke, he was confronted with a sobbing and shaking Hermione at the side of his bed.

"Hermione?" He asked confused.

"Oh, Harry. Thank you so much. The troll caught me completely by surprise, I couldn't move. It was like I was frozen on the spot. If you hadn't distracted it, it would have attacked me, it was about to come in and smash me with its club." She said, hugging the dear life out of him.

He was tense, but tried to relax.

"Hey, it's okay, I didn't get hurt." He said.

"But you put yourself in danger just to protect me." She sobbed.

"Indeed a very noble act, Mr Potter." Dumbledore's voice sounded.

Behind Hermione with his usually twinkling eyes Albus Dumbledore was watching them. Hermione let go of Harry embarrassed.

"I only did it because I knew that if you were trapped in the room with the troll there would be nothing anybody could have done to help you. I didn't have any idea how to deal with a troll. All the spells any book mentioned are above my level. I only knew I was faster than it. So I decided to play a game of cat and mouse and get it into the direction from where the teachers would come after Hedwig delivered my note." Harry said. "I kicked the helmet of one of the suits of armour into its face and it followed me. Without Hedwig making me feather light when the stairs I wanted to take disconnected from the floor I was on, I wouldn't have got away like I did."

"Yes, indeed a very interesting act from your familiar. I didn't know moon owls could do that, but then again, there are nearly no documents on moon owls beside how they look like. Madam Pomfrey also told me you could mind talk to her." Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, it happened for the first time yesterday. Hedwig said she didn't know all her powers she is still learning about them." Harry answered.

"Remarkable. Well, Madam Pomfrey wants to examine you one last time, then she will let you return to your common rooms. Oh and before I forget it, Mr Potter, fifty points for Ravenclaw for outstanding thinking on your feet in a dangerous situation." Dumbledore said smiling.

"Thank you, sir." Harry said.

Dumbledore left.

"By the way, Hermione, why were you in that bathroom? I mean, you should have been at the feast." Harry asked.

Hermione looked sad.

"Hey, what happened? Contrary to me you don't have any reason to not like Halloween, do you?" Harry asked.

"No, it wasn't because of Halloween. It was because of Ron Weasley. In Charms I corrected his pronunciation of the charm because with how he said it and how he trashed around with his wand he would have hurt himself or others. After class he told his friends, while I was just behind them, he said that I was an insufferable know-it-all and that I didn't have any friends. And that once Neville and Miranda noticed how unbearable I was and didn't need my help for homework anymore they would leave me as well. And he said that I had no right to correct him as I didn't know anything about the wizarding world as a muggleborn." She said and sobbed again.

Harry, still uncomfortable about much physical contact, put a hand on her back and rubbed it awkwardly. Miranda was right; he wasn't good at relationships with kids his age as he had been isolated from them most of the time. The only ones he got along with better were his team-mates. But that was never really that close beyond playing football and talking about playing and a few non important topics. And he had had a lot of time to get used to them and know how they would react to certain behaviour from him.

"Forget what he said. You know it isn't true. Neville and Miranda are your friends. They would never abandon you. And they don't just use you for their homework. That's probably what Weasley would do. I guess that has happened when you were in primary school?" Harry asked.

"Yes, the other kids always teased me about my large front teeth and that I was a bookworm and a teacher's pet. When another girl was being nice to me, I was so happy. I didn't think anything about helping her with her schoolwork, I thought that was just what a friend would do, but I overheard her talking to some others that asked her why she was even talking to me that I was useful for her homework. It hurt so much, finding out that my only friend only used me to be better in school and didn't like me really." She said.

Harry decided he would corner Weasley and give him a proper dressing down. He hated people who hurt others because they felt inadequate themselves and needed to make themselves feel better about others being miserable.

"If your front teeth are a problem for you, why don't you ask Madam Pomfrey if she could shrink them a bit for you? It would only take a little bit and if it means so much to you, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Harry asked.

"I don't know if my parents would allow that. They're dentists and think I should just use my braces." She answered.

"Well, what can they do if you just have it done? It's nothing harmful and it seems to mean a lot to you. While they may be a bit disgruntled in the beginning, they'll get over it soon when they see how happy it makes you." Harry argued.

"Perhaps, I'll think about it. Thank you, Harry."

"You're welcome, Hermione. Uhm, would you mind to leave me alone for a moment so I can change?" He asked.

"Oh, of course, sorry, Harry." She said blushing and practically raced to the other side of the curtains that closed off Harry's bed from view.

Harry changed from his pyjama into his free-time clothes which were placed on a chair next to his bed. When he was done, he came out from behind the curtains. It didn't take long for Madam Pomfrey to clear them both to leave the hospital wing.

* * *

Ron Weasley was walking from Gryffindor Tower towards the Great Hall for lunch. Yesterday the incident with the troll in the castle had cut the feast short. It was a shame, so many good things to eat and they hadn't got the chance to really enjoy them over the fear that the troll would come there. And then of course Harry Potter again was in the spotlight. That arrogant show-off. Potter the Boy-Who-Simply-Could-Do-Everything. Now he had even got onto his house's Quidditch team and it was said he had led the troll on a race of cat and mouse until the teachers could get the troll. There also were rumours he had sung a Cerberus to sleep. Pah, as if anybody could do that. Potter the traitor should have been a Gryffindor and then he would have become his best friend. That was what his mother had always said. A boy as brave as Harry Potter would have to become a Gryffindor. After all both his parents had been in Gryffindor, but where did the traitor go? To the Ravenclaw bookworms. And instead of seeing what a boring nerd and bookworm he was, everybody seemed to fall over him.

Suddenly he froze and was dragged into an empty classroom. Then he was unfrozen, grabbed by the collar and stared down by furious green eyes. The eyes of the one he had just mentally ranted about.

"Do you know that I would love to beat you up for what you caused yesterday, Weasley? I have noticed that you are incapable of thinking before you talk, so I will make my message really clear. You, Ronald Weasley, have nearly become the cause for the death of a fellow student." Harry spat.

"Wha? What the hell are you talking about, Potter? I would never kill somebody. Only dark wizards do that." Ron shouted.

"SHUT UP!" Harry shouted back making Ron shiver in fear.

"Yesterday in Charms you were angry because Hermione was better than you again. You were jealous that Neville and I got the attention in class, while you failed to do the charm. Hermione even tried to help you. She told you what you did wrong, but you, the stupid, stuck up on false pride, moron that you are, couldn't just accept the help and had to make fun of her after class. You knew she was walking behind you, yet you still had to say that her friends would only stay with her because she was helping them with their homework and that nobody could stand a know-it-all-bookworm.

"Your words made her run away, miss lunch and lock herself into the toilet on the second floor, crying her eyes out over your cruel words. The same toilet the troll nearly went into. Miranda tried to get her out of there, but thanks to you, she didn't want to come out. You, Ronald Weasley, and your cruel words are the reason she was in that toilet when the troll came. Hadn't I just been walking around with Hedwig to stretch my legs, she would be dead by now. No first year would be able to take on a mountain troll and win. I'm the best in our year and I could only make it change attention to me and chase me instead of Hermione. And that I got away unharmed was only because I was lucky, it had nothing to do with any mystique skills or such nonsense. Do you feel good now? Do you feel superior? What does it feel like to nearly have caused the death of a girl that only tried to help you?" Harry coldly asked.

With every word of the story Ron had paled more.

"You said only dark wizards would cause the death of somebody? Are you a dark wizard, Weasley? Does it feel good that your words were hurting her more than any wound you could have dealt her physically? Should I show you just how much words can hurt?" Harry asked again, not getting an answer from the shaking boy.

"Should I take that as a yes? You are not even worth being beaten up. You are scum, nothing more. You get turned on by making others cry. Did you even try to apologize to Hermione when you heard Parvati and Miranda talk about where she was? No, you continued on to the feast. When you found out that a troll was in the castle, did you think about the danger Hermione could be in? It was a coincidence that Professor McGonagall noticed she was missing and asked Neville and Miranda where she was so that a teacher went there as soon as they knew about the troll. But you were only interested in your food. You begrudge Hermione and me that we are good in class, but you only laze around from what I hear, not making any effort to do better in class, so you don#t have any right to be jealous of those that get praised for good results. If I ever hear that you do something like that again, you will have to deal with me, Weasley. I take offence to anybody hurting those I care about. And don't make any mistake; I am an unforgiving enemy to have." Harry said, let Ron fall to the ground and walked out of the room.

* * *

Things didn't get better for Ron Weasley the next few days. The verbal beating Harry had given him was replayed in his mind over and over again, especially the accusation of being a dark wizard for liking to make others hurt. Worse, the twins had found out about his part in Hermione's near fatal contact with the troll. He got pranked horribly and Percy told him in very clear words that he was disgusted to have to hear how his brother could say something like he did to Hermione. He had written their mother to inform her about his abysmal behaviour. The rest of the first years were shunning him. Even Dean and Seamus. They all thought that until he honestly apologized to Hermione, he deserved their treatment.

The next thing was the howler he got two days after the incident. The day where he had hoped to get a reprieve as it was the day where the first Quidditch mazch, Gryffindor against Slytherin would take place. But the loud, booming voice of Molly Weasley, who told him how disgusted she was with his behaviour, made him feel very small. It didn't help that those cold, hard, green eyes were constantly drilling into his head. And Potter hadn't even got points deducted.

Harry had been called into Professor Flitwick's office and his head of house had asked him to explain what had happened between him and Ron. Somehow rumours had spread that he had given Ron a thorough dressing down. Harry had informed Flitwick that he had told Ron what he thought about his actions, made him realize just what his insensitive words had nearly caused and asked him if he was proud of his actions. He didn't hurt him, the only thing he could have been held accountable for was the body bind hex, for which he was ready to take full responsibility. He said his reason was that he wanted to do it without witnesses to not let things get further out of control.

Flitwick had told Harry that he should have left things to the teachers and had given him a warning to not repeat his action. But as it hadn't technically been wrong and it was much more effective that a student called Ron out for his stupidity, he let it slide.

* * *

The Quidditch match Gryffindor vs. Slytherin was brutal. After the initial success of the Gryffindor chasers, the Slytherin team acted with more brutality than before. Angelina Johnson was sent tumbling down behind a banner after being smashed into the side by Slytherin captain Flint. Oliver Wood, who had kept his team in the lead with his saves despite the cheating of Slytherin, was hit in the stomach by a bludger when Madam Hooch was dressing down Flint. While both actions against Johnson and Wood resulted in penalty shots for Gryffindor, after two key players were weakened, Slytherin's chaser trio had much more leeway in their attacks. The only saving grace for Gryffindor were the Weasley twins who had taken personal offence to the way Slytherin had attacked their team-mates and shot dangerous bludger attacks at the attacking chasers and made sure the Slytherin seeker didn't have a reprieve to find the snitch.

In the end, when Slytherin was already leading in the game with 120 to 70, Terrence Higgs, the Slytherin seeker finally got the snitch and the match ended 270 to 70 for Slytherin, much to the chagrin of the Gryffindors.

"You have seen how Slytherin plays. They use every dirty trick in the book to get their way." Daniel told the assembled Ravenclaw team, who had got orders to be present to study their opponents.

"If they notice that they can't get their way they commit fouls. For them, taking penalty shots isn't an issue if they can weaken the most dangerous players on the opponent team. The only reason Gryffindor didn't lose worse are that Wood is a hard nut to crack and the Weasley twins can be vicious as you have seen. The only position Gryffindor is weak at if they play against Hufflepuff or us, is the seeker. Their new seeker is inexperienced and doesn't have a good eye for the snitch. In fact Gryffindor didn't have a good seeker since Charlie Weasley left two years ago. The best way to beat Gryffindor is fast play. If the twins don't get a chance to hit you with a bludger, they can't disturb our moves.

"Slytherin will be less vicious against us than against Gryffindor, that's a long standing rivalry there that gets moods heated up every time they face each other. They will still play brutally though. We will work on strategies for them once the games come up. Next week we will have to play against Hufflepuff. We will have four training units instead of the normal three, one being a strategy meeting directly before the game." Daniel announced.

"Okay, captain." The younger ones answered. Pomarel just nodded.

* * *

The next week Harry was kept really busy with his training and cut his morning workouts short to do some homework. Finally it was the day of the match. The weather was dry with a few clouds in the sky, meaning light changes from sun to cloudy could happen. Well, that would mainly concern Daniel as he was the seeker. For the others it didn't matter as much.

"Okay, you all know the plan. We have trained hard, we know our moves and we are good. For a new team we are astonishingly good. Don't underestimate the Hufflepuffs, concentrate and we will win this." Daniel told them before they had to move out on the field.

"Yes!" They all shouted.

They walked out onto the field, seeing the Hufflepuffs in their yellow Quidditch robes appearing from the other side of the field. Daniel and the Hufflepuff captain, sixth year Ignatio Renner, shook hands before they kicked off and took their positions. Madam Hooch released the balls and then threw up the quaffle and took off into the air herself. Roger Davies got the ball and dodged the Hufflepuff chaser that tried to catch the ball herself. Roger sped off, passed to Quentana when confronted with the second chaser, who then flew towards the goals, Roger flanking her left, Harry slightly down to the right. She dodged a bludger that was aimed at her and shortly before she reached the hoops, passed surprisingly at Roger, who put the quaffle through the left hoop and scored the first points for Ravenclaw.

The Hufflepuff keeper got the quaffle and passed to his chaser, but Harry had been waiting for that, intercepted the ball and put it through the right hoop.

"Look at that, Potter just used the weak pass to Ericson to intercept the pass from keeper Tyler to score the second time for Ravenclaw. 20 to 0 Ravenclaw." The voice of Lee Jordan sounded through the loudspeakers.

The game went back and forth. Hufflepuff was more careful now with their passes, but Harry was simply good at stealing the quaffle. Daniel had spotted that ability of his early in the team training and built some fast counter strategies on it. Harry was to take the quaffle away from another chaser, speed up towards the goal where Quentana and Roger were already waiting in position. A well-aimed pass at one or the other without the keeper knowing whom Harry would serve, got Ravenclaw more goals in fast succession.

When the Hufflepuffs got used to that play after four goals they took through that, Ravenclaw quickly changed strategy again and Harry and Roger demonstrated perfect fast paced passes around the Hufflepuff defence. Harry also showed his spinning shots that were incalculable for Tyler. On the Ravenclaw side of the field, Pomarel showed his skill as a keeper and stopped five of the eight attempts Hufflepuff got through the Ravenclaw defence on their hoops. After forty five minutes Ravenclaw led 180 to 30. Then Barkaim shot down, followed by Diggory, the Hufflepuff seeker. Harry used the confusion of the Hufflepuff team to score once more. Barkaim just managed to grab the snitch before Diggory could close his hand around it.

"And Barkaim in a fantastic showdown against Diggory catches the snitch, winning Ravenclaw the game. Damn if any of us had the Ravenclaw team on our list of favourites for the Cup this year with having more than half of their team to replace. Ravenclaw wins with 340 to 30!" Lee shouted.

The Ravenclaws were surrounding their captain who still held the snitch in his hands and cheered for this great victory.

* * *

**Alright, that covers Halloween and the first Quidditch matches. Till next time.**


	11. Surprises in Court

**Hi, here is the next chapter for Champion, sorry for the fairly long wait, I was quite busy with my job. Hope you like it.**

* * *

**Surprises in Court**

People wore unpleasant and angry looks on their faces. They didn't want to be here today, they thought this was a waste of time. But because one boy, even if it was Harry Potter, had asked uncomfortable questions and the Minister feared for the reputation it would get him if Harry Potter gave more interviews like the last one that had appeared in the Daily Prophet as an exclusive of Rita Skeeter two days ago, there was now a trial for the right hand man of You-Know-Who taking place in five minutes. Why didn't they let the bastard just rot in Azkaban?

The dementors glided into the room, projecting gloom all around them. They just had to look at the man to see that he was no good. He had that evil glint in his eyes. Black was placed into the chair and chains sprang up around him. Then the dementors left the room, which confused some. Normally they stayed. To the utter surprise of all assembled members of the Wizengamot, not a barrister at law, but Harry Potter himself entered the room, clad in a formal black robe, taking the position of witness for the defence. What could an eleven year old boy do?

Well, Harry had tried for weeks to get a good barrister for Sirius, ever since his plan to force the Ministry to finally grant the trial had been set up, but the only one willing to do the job was Professor Dumbledore and he had to preside the trial as Chief Warlock. Still, Harry wasn't somebody to simply let something like that stand and had therefore buried himself in law books for the last three weeks and looked up everything concerning this case. His performance in class had suffered a bit and he had got less sleep and cut back on his work-outs, but he was prepared now. His classmates had quickly learned to not disturb him while he was reading the books and dotting down important parts.

"Order in court!" Dumbledore shouted, silencing the members. "Trial of 8th December 1991 for Sirius Orion Black on the charges of murder of one wizard Peter Lufanus Pettigrew and thirteen muggles after the fall of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Further charges are betraying the Potter family to Lord Voldemort as the secret keeper for the Potters. Presiding Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic. Representing the accusation: Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, representing the Defence: Harry James Potter, heir to the Ancient and Noble House of Potter. How does the accused plead?" Dumbledore called out ignoring shrieks of fear and flinching of the Wizengamot members for him using the name.

"Not guilty." Sirius said hoarsely, getting enraged shouts from the Wizengamot members.

"Noted." Dumbledore shouted over the chaos. "Madam Bones, your turn." Dumbledore said, hoping Harry knew what he did.

He had been against the boy doing this, but Harry had stubbornly demanded that if no qualified barrister would do the job he would. He had got a three hour meeting with Sirius and had come out, saying Sirius was innocent.

"Thank you Chief Warlock. The accused was made secret keeper of the hiding place of James and Lily Potter in October of 1981. Being secret keeper means that the secret, in this case the place where the Potters lived, is hidden in the very soul of a person by enacting the Fidelius charm, an ancient and very complicated charm. We have the statement of Albus Dumbledore from November 1981 to back this up. After the Dark Lord was defeated by Harry Potter on Halloween 1981, Sirius Black knew he had to flee with people being after him, now that he had shown his loyalty to the Dark Lord. Sadly he didn't count on Peter Pettigrew finding him in the afternoon of the 6th November 1981. Pettigrew cornered Black and shouted at him how he could have betrayed Lily and James Potter to the Dark Lord. This can be confirmed by the statements of the by-standing muggles, which were obliviated later on.

"Black, being the more powerful wizard than Pettigrew, shot a blasting hex at Pettigrew, hit him and killed him. The hex also hit a muggle gas line in the ground, which led to an explosion that killed thirteen muggles, ripped open the ground and left nothing more than a finger of Pettigrew's body. For these crimes the accusation demands that the accused is send back to Azkaban for the rest of his natural life." Madam Bones ended her statement.

"Mr Potter, your turn." Dumbledore said.

Harry stood up from his seat with a natural looking grace and gave Dumbledore a nod from his head.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock. First I want to turn your attention to the reports of the members of the squad the Department of Magical Catastrophes who were sent to the site. I cite from the report that was handed in by our current Minister Cornelius Fudge:

_The ground was ripped open down to the sewers; all over the place were charred corpses of the muggles that were caught in the explosion lying around. People were screaming in fear. When we reached the site, Black stood there laughing. In front of him a blood stained robe and a few fragments. We closed off the area so no other muggles could get close. The muggle witnesses were questioned on site over the incident and then obliviated. Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol while the Obliviators took care of changing the memory of the muggle witnesses._

"Minister Fudge, as you have been on site, would you please tell the members of the Wizengamot what kind of fragments you found of Peter Pettigrew?" Harry asked politely.

"Of course. There was a bloody finger, nothing more. We were unable to find more remains, no matter how hard we looked for them." Fudge said.

"And how far away from the corpses you mentioned in your report were the bloody robe, the bloody finger, and Sirius Black?" Harry asked.

"Most about thirty to thirty-eight feet perhaps. The closest one fifteen to twenty feet." Fudge said pondering the question.

"What state was the robe you found in despite being bloody?" Harry asked.

"Well, there were a few cuts and stains on it." Fudge said.

"Thank you, Minister Fudge. I raise one question. How would it be possible that with a small distance like Minister Fudge just described the closest muggles being away from Black and Pettigrew's robe, their bodies were complete? While for those closer to the gas line that was hit that ripped open the ground, some limbs were ripped off, they were all found on site. Minister Fudge stated further that only a bloody finger and some bloodstains on the robe of Pettigrew were found, the robe being cut and stained but otherwise intact. How would the robe survive a blasting hex like that?" Harry asked, making a pause to have them think about what he had said while turning to Madam Bones. "Madam Bones, would you please allow me to borrow one of your aurors for a small demonstration for the Wizengamot?" Harry asked.

"That depends on your intention, Mr Potter." Amelia said impressed by the eleven years old boy.

"I want your auror to shoot a blasting hex on a dummy with a normal wizard's robe that can be bought in every clothing shop. The one I brought for this demonstration was charmed with a few protective spells that are normal in the higher price segment to make sure nothing can be overlooked." Harry stated, holding out a plain black robe.

"That can be done, Mr Potter. Auror Dawlish, please do the demonstration." Madam Bones ordered and conjured a wooden dummy.

Harry placed the robe on the dummy.

"Auror Dawlish, please give it your strongest blasting hex from a distance of fifteen feet away." Harry asked the auror.

Dawlish aimed. "Bombarda." He said and a bright red beam shot at the dummy, destroying it and making splinters fly around.

The robe was torn to shreds. Harry walked up there and took the robe. He held it out for all members of the Wizengamot to see.

"This is the effect of Auror Dawlish's best blasting hex from a similar distance that the witnesses stated Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew were standing away from each other. As you can see, the robe was torn to shreds. Now think about this. If Sirius Black shot a similar blasting hex like Auror Dawlish just demonstrated at Pettigrew, and if additionally the gas explosion increased the effect, proven by the state the muggle corpses were in, how could the robe stay in the state Minister Fudge described in his report and just reported in more detail?" Harry asked.

He let the Wizengamot think a moment about this. He heard many whispers wondering how that could be. His strategy required that they doubted the conclusions that had been drawn based in flimsy evidence. For that they had to realise just how flimsy the evidence was.

"The next part of my defence for the accused is based on the reports of the warden of Azkaban prison, Walter Kensington. Such a report is the routine procedure when a new prisoner is sent there. This one is about the placement of Rastaban, Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange." Harry said, holding up a parchment before he started reading out loud.

_We took all their personal things and placed them in the boxes in the security storage. There were their wands, a few galleons, sickles and knuts, two handkerchiefs, three wristwatches, their robes, a witch's hat and their shoes. On each of their left forearms we found the dark mark branded. The prisoners were given the normal prisoner's attire and placed in single cells in the high security tract._

And now the report from the health inspector that examined all prisoners in June 1991.

_Even after a decade the Dark Mark is still present on the Lestranges' left forearms. It is much fainter than before, but clearly visible in a dull grey instead of a strong black like when they were arrested._

"Now from other reports I could ascertain that all the closest followers of the Dark Lord Voldemort bore that mark on their left forearm, am I correct, Madam Bones?" Harry asked.

"Yes, you are, Mr Potter. What are you trying to achieve with that question?" She asked.

Harry simply went to Sirius, pulled up the left sleeve of his prison uniform and pointed at the bare left arm.

"If Sirius Black was a follower of Lord Voldemort, more so his second in command, wouldn't he have the same dark mark like the others?" Harry asked, getting more talking from the ranks.

"Now I have given you two pieces that make the guilt of Sirius Black appear not so certain as it was seen in the past. Alone the missing Dark Mark should have led to a deeper investigation of the case. My question now is: Why didn't the Department of Magical Law Enforcement get proof that he did what he was accused of?" Harry again made a dramatic pause and looked around and into several people's eyes. "I can go on. The report of Bartemius Gregorus Crouch, the former head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and responsible for the order to send every prisoner to Azkaban, stated that based on the findings of the Department of Magical Catastrophes there was no doubt about Sirius Black's guilt and he signed off the transfer to Azkaban. Why wasn't there a proper investigation?

"Madam Bones, I read the basic Auror Manual in preparation for this trial, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it says, and this article hasn't been changed since 1947:

_If a suspect is arrested for a crime, the first thing any auror or hit wizard has to do starting the investigation is confiscating the suspect's wand and perform the spell 'priori incantatem' to see the last spells done with the wand in question. The suspect is to be searched for any other magical foci and wands which have to undergo the same test. All spells that are found having been performed by the wand or other focus have to be noted and added to the official report."_

Harry cited and got a nod of confirmation from Madam Bones.

"None off all the reports on the Sirius Black case ever states the spells that his wand has performed last. But procedure demands that the spells are documented in the report. As it is common procedure, I asked for the wand to be brought here to have the charm performed. If you would do the honours?" Harry said.

Madam Bones took the wand, looking more and more displeased with how this trial was going. Potter had brought up many good points. There should have been a proper investigation and until now she had believed that was the case. She knew Rita Skeeter was sitting in the audience. If this would continue the Ministry would be made a laughing stock. She pointed her wand at Black's wand.

"_Priori incantatem_." She said.

The wand performed a shield charm, a stunning spell, a lighting charm, a point-me spell and two levitating charms. No exploding hex.

"That's not possible." She said shocked.

"Now that we have confirmed that many things don't add up and could have easily been found out if just the basic steps of investigation would have been followed, after all, Sirius Black didn't put up resistance against the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol when they arrested him, so performing this little spell would have been an act of seconds and wouldn't have endangered the investigation and arrest of the suspect at all, I think we can say with relative certainty that Sirius Black didn't kill the muggles and Peter Pettigrew. It is impossible to get the described effects on the site of the explosion with any of the spells that the wand performed. The most aggressive spell would be the stunning spell. The team from Magical Catastrophes didn't find any other wands on site and Sirius Black also didn't have any others on his person. Concluding from the spells the wand performed, the suspicion of Sirius Black not being the one who has been found by Pettigrew, but it being the other way round comes up.

"I will come back to that thought later. The second part of the accusations was that Sirius Black was made the secret keeper of my parents. Chief Warlock Dumbledore, what was the base for your statement of Sirius Black being the secret keeper?" Harry asked.

"I was told by James Potter, your father, that they had chosen Sirius to be their secret keeper. I had offered him to become the secret keeper myself as Voldemort had shown an unusually high interest in your family and wanted to keep you safe, but James refused, saying that Sirius would never betray them and go into hiding himself to keep them safe. I know that the charm was performed on the 22nd October as at that point I forgot about the location of your home." Dumbledore said.

"So you weren't present when the charm was performed?" Harry asked.

"No, Lily, your mother, was the one that performed the charm." Dumbledore explained.

"Thank you, Chief Warlock." Harry said. "So, while all indications indeed point to Sirius Black being the secret keeper of my family we don't have proof of that. Professor Dumbledore didn't see the charm being performed which would have been the only way for him to know with certainty who was made the secret keeper. So far he only made logical deductions. From various stories I have heard about my parents' time at Hogwarts there always comes up a group of four friends that included my father, James Potter, as well as Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They were said to be the closest friends with my father and Sirius Black being like brothers. Those four were infamous for being pranksters who sometimes went too far in their pranks.

"So, knowing that my father and his friends loved to deceive people at school, would it be too far-fetched to believe they planned a prank against Voldemort to keep us safe?" Harry asked, making people that had known the group at Hogwarts gasp.

Harry let them think about it for a while.

"The only one who can tell us with absolute certainty what really happened in 1981, what has caused his actions and what led to the failing of the Fidelius charm and the explosion that cost thirteen muggles their lives is Sirius Black himself. Though even if he is the only one knowing the whole truth, he never was even questioned." Harry said.

"He would just have lied." Somebody shouted. Harry gave the man an icy glare that froze the man's movements instantly.

"Do I have to assume that a member of the Wizengamot is so ignorant of the possibilities the Magical Law Enforcement has for solving a crime that he doesn't know that in cases of murder, terrorism and treason against the country the use of veritaserum isn't bound to the permission of the suspect?" Harry asked coldly.

Many whispered. It seemed they hadn't known that fact.

"That is written down in the Decree for the Ministry Controlled Use of Veritaserum, Article Seven. It would be good if those that are responsible for upholding our laws constantly kept informed about them." Harry stated. He knew he had stepped on a few toes with that statement, but they couldn't tell he was wrong as he had just shown.

"Chief Warlock Dumbledore, I request an interrogation under veritaserum of the accused." Harry said.

"Granted. Madam Bones, please administer the veritaserum." Dumbledore said.

Madam Bones took out a vial of the truth potion which she always had on her person for trials and walked over to Black. He looked at her grinning. The cheek of that man. He willingly opened his mouth and accepted three drops in his mouth. She started the interrogation as that was her part in a trial before the witness of the defence had the word, even if in this trial Harry Potter had been saying way more than her.

"What is your name?" She asked.

"Sirius Orion Black." He answered.

"Are you a Death Eater?"

"No." That caused uproar and Dumbledore needed to silence the Wizengamot. She saw Rita gleefully taking notes.

"Were you the secret keeper of the Potters?"

"No. We changed to Peter to trick Voldemort." Sirius answered. Harry looked smug.

"Why?" She couldn't stop herself asking.

"I was too obvious. I was James' best friend so everybody would assume that I was the secret keeper and come after me. We thought if we let people continue to think that and made Peter the secret keeper and he stayed in hiding, James, Lily and Harry would be safe from Voldemort." Sirius answered.

"What happened after you found the Potters dead?" She asked.

"I saw Hagrid being there holding Harry in his arms. He said Professor Dumbledore had ordered him to take Harry to his aunt. I tried to get Harry as I was his godfather, but he refused. So I did the next best thing and gave him my flying motorbike to get Harry to safety. I had to make sure Harry was safe and if I couldn't take him myself I at least wanted to give Hagrid a means to avoid attacks. I went into the house and levitated James and Lily out. I didn't want them to be crushed if the house crumbled. Then I was gripped by fury. I didn't think clearly anymore. I wanted to make the rat that betrayed James and Lily to Voldemort pay. So I went to hunt him down. I found him a few days later. I cornered him after trying to stun him. He surprised me by shouting how I could have betrayed Lily and James. Then he blasted the street behind him apart, grinned and cut off his own finger. He transformed into a rat and ran off into the sewer he had blasted open with his hex that coincidentally had hit a gas line.

"At that moment I couldn't help but laugh. Weak, pathetic, little Peter had got one over me. And I still felt guilty for suggesting him as the secret keeper to Lily and James. If I had just been the secret keeper myself, they would still be alive." Sirius said.

The courtroom was deathly silent. The reality of what people had done to this man began to sink in. He was innocent and still had been sent to Azkaban.

"Did you hear enough? I think this is the irrefutable proof that Sirius Black is innocent of all the crimes you accused him of and tore him apart for in the press. You let an innocent man stay in Azkaban in the high security tract without even granting him a trial for ten full years. I have to wonder how many more people were sent to Azkaban without a trial. A right that every person is granted under the law of the crown which still is valid for the wizarding world according to the decrees made when, with the activation of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692, the English king let the magical population of England go and live in their own society with their own government completely separated from the muggles. The king permitted self-government as long as the crown was still the highest sovereign of all the people of England. Are there perhaps more unlucky ones like my godfather who were chucked there, seen as the scum of the world and forgotten without proof of their guilt? I request a thorough investigation on all the ones that were sent to Azkaban during the time that Bartemius Crouch was head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. With as shaky evidence as he had in this case, who is to say he didn't get rid of a few political opponents this way? Or just wanted to look good in the eyes of the public." Harry asked the assembled members of the Wizengamot.

One man was glaring at him, he had a strictly cut moustache and perfectly sitting robes. Harry guessed that it was Barty Crouch as many were now looking at the man suspiciously. He didn't care. That man was the reason he had had to grow up in the hell that was Privet Drive. He would destroy him and he was relatively sure this would do it or at least most of it.

"Members of the Wizengamot, I think it is time to come to a voting. You have heard the accusation, the defence and the interrogation of the accused under veritaserum provided by the Ministry through Madam Bones. Those in favour of declaring the accused guilty of the charges against him?" Dumbledore asked.

With the evidence Harry had shown, there was no one stupid enough to raise his hand.

"All for clearing the accused of all charges?" Dumbledore asked and the hands went up in masses.

"Sirius Orion Black, you have been cleared of all charges against you. I want to personally apologize for not having made sure that the laws have been followed during those dark times and thought you capable of those horrible crimes. I declare that you are given reparation of 50.000 galleons for every year you were held innocently in Azkaban. The Ministry will pay for all bills of St. Mungo's to restore your health after your long-term stay in Azkaban." Dumbledore said.

The chains that bound Sirius to the chair fell off and he looked like he couldn't believe it yet. He was finally free and the one to manage that miracle was his eleven year old godson. He turned to Harry and saw the boy grinning.

"Thank you, Harry. I don't know how I can ever repay what you did for me. I had given up hope of ever getting out of there. In the beginning I was sure they would find out the truth once I got a trial, but they never got me. How did you find out I was innocent?" Sirius asked.

"I didn't know it, but I thought it was impossible that somebody hit with a blasting hex wouldn't leave more remains than a finger. So there had to be more to it. After reading up on the records my suspicions grew. After all, if you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable must be the truth. That's my favourite saying from a famous fictional muggle detective called Sherlock Holmes. So if it was impossible that only a finger remained if Pettigrew was killed by a blasting hex, he had to be alive somewhere. Which meant you didn't kill him and probably the muggles as well. But the only one to know was you and by demanding a trial I could find out for sure." Harry said.

"Mr Potter." Harry heard the voice of Rita Skeeter behind him. A big group of reporters had come down to interview him and Sirius. Now it was show time.

"Rita Skeeter for the Daily Prophet. A few questions please." She asked.

"As long as you keep your questions to the trial and not get personal I will answer some questions, Madam Skeeter. I don't have to stress that I expect you to truthfully report on my statements?" Harry asked.

"Of course Mr Potter." She hastily agreed. After all, this story was good enough on its own.

"Then fire away." Harry said.

"Why were you so convinced that Mr Black was innocent?" She asked.

"I was informed about the reasons why I didn't grow up with my godfather by Professor Dumbledore in late June while I had to stay at St. Mungo's to treat some problems that were caused by my muggle relatives and which my teachers at primary school hadn't managed to counteract. When I asked for the reasons for Mr Black's imprisonment I was told the stories and spotted some things that didn't add up. Like the finger that was the only thing remaining of Pettigrew, which I pointed out in my defence. So I wanted to know more and asked Professor Dumbledore that he got my godfather a trial. I didn't want anything more.

"After all, every citizen in Great Britain has the right under the law of the crown for a trial. It doesn't matter that the Ministry of Magic governs the wizarding part of Great Britain, we are still subjects of her Majesty the Queen." Harry said.

"Mr Potter, Richard Davies for Magic Tomorrow. Why did you take over the defence for Mr Black personally? After all you are just eleven years old." Another reporter asked.

"Well, I tried to get a professional barrister at law to take over the case, but they all refused, stating they didn't want to take a lost case." Harry answered.

"Mr Potter, you said your muggle relatives were the cause for your stay at St. Mungo's. What did they do to you?" Rita asked.

"That is personal Madam Skeeter. I will just say they have to face charges for child abuse and theft from me soon." Harry said.

He was sure Rita would snoop into the Dursley's family now. They would be the most hated people in the country.

"Mr Potter, how were you able to present such a well-structured defence? Do you intend to go into making a career of being a barrister at law?" Richard Davies asked.

"I don't know yet which profession I want to follow when I am an adult. I would have preferred to not have been forced doing the job an adult should have done in my stead, but the only one willing to at least listen to my godfather was Professor Dumbledore and he is the Chief Warlock and had to preside over this trial. And how I was able to do this, well, I have buried myself in all the law books the Hogwarts library had on the topic for three weeks. And as a Ravenclaw I know how to do research properly." He stated.

"Yes, your sorting was a surprise for many. Most people had expected you to go to Gryffindor house like your parents." Rita asked.

"I was pretty sure I would end in Ravenclaw. During my time in primary school the library was my refuge from my brutal cousin and his gang. The librarian helped me hide there and showed me books she thought would interest me. My knowledge about criminal investigation comes mostly from a muggle mystery novel series I love called Sherlock Holmes." Harry said.

"Mr Black, what are your plans now that you are free?" Davies asked.

"I'll first get back to my normal strength and then I will request to be given custody of my godson if he wants to live with me. Lily and James made me his godfather and thanks to the actions of others and a bit of misjudgement on my part in my grief, I lost the chance to be there for him these past ten years. I don't know yet if I will return to my former position in the DMLE. Due to the war I never took a formal exam for aurors like many others at the time. We were just given the training and then let into the field. I'd have to discuss this with Madam Bones after I am healed." Sirius said.

"Mr Black, I think something else needs to be taken care of now." Madam Bones' voice was heard saying.

The reporters parted and Amelia stepped forward and held Sirius' wand out to him. Sirius took it smiling and felt great being reconnected with his wand after all this time.

"Thank you, Madam Bones." Sirius said.

"I also wanted to apologize for not having believed in you. You were one of us and have fought against the Death Eaters many times. I should at least have investigated your guilt more, I'm really sorry." She said.

"Apology accepted. You were just following orders of Crouch. He is the one whom I won't forgive. If he had just done his job nothing of this would ever have happened." Sirius answered.

"One last question then I need to go." Harry said.

"How do you feel as the youngest Quidditch player at Hogwarts in a century?" Rita asked.

"It's great. I love flying and playing Quidditch and my team-mates are great. I hope we can win the Quidditch Cup this year for Ravenclaw. But we still need to win against Gryffindor and Slytherin and both teams are strong, but I like a good challenge." Harry said.

Then he turned around and walked out of the courtroom, Sirius following him. Harry had organized for a private room with a floo-connection to talk to Sirius in private.

* * *

Once they reached the room Harry closed the door behind them to keep nosy reporters out and turned to Sirius. He looked a bit unsure of how to treat his godfather.

"When do you think your treatment in St. Mungo's will be over?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. But I guess I'll have to stay there for one or two weeks to get at least over the worst effects of the long-term dementor exposure. So I think I won't be out of there before Christmas." Sirius answered.

"And you also don't have a place ready where you can live. Why don't you come and visit me at Hogwarts? I'm sure Professor Dumbledore can arrange that over the break. Before I agree to living with you, I want to be sure we can get along. I have some things I insist upon; in others I'm willing to discuss them with you. I have made too many bad experiences in my life to just let others control me." Harry said bluntly.

"I'm sorry to hear that, I really am. I wanted to take care of you like I promised. I just didn't think they would just chuck me into Azkaban, being innocent without even giving me a chance to explain myself. They just let me rot. I thought after I caught Peter I could explain everything to Dumbledore and he would help me getting custody of you." Sirius said remorsefully. "I regretted ever letting you go the moment I could think again. As far as the dementors let me think."

"No, the best you could have hoped for would have been visiting me until all the Death Eaters were caught. Dumbledore placed me with Petunia as Mum gave me a protection based on her sacrifice. He set up blood wards based on that sacrifice. As long as I could call the place where my mother's blood lived home, I would be safe from Voldemort and his minions there. The wards have fallen now as I don't see that place at home, never did in fact, but to break the spell I needed to declare it. Which happened when Professor McGonagall came to visit me after I asked for more information about Hogwarts after I got my letter." Harry explained.

"I see, but he must have known how Petunia disliked magic. All of us in the Order of the Phoenix knew that." Sirius exclaimed horrified.

"He knew she did and placed Mrs Figg to look out for me in the neighbourhood. But my magic worked too well for her to notice. She knew I was neglected, but she couldn't spot physical abuse. And as long as I was 'only unhappy' Dumbledore didn't want to risk the protection the wards gave me. After they broke my arm when I was four and I was in pain for four days, my magic took over and healed me. It was the same from then on with all my other injuries over the years. It stopped when I scared them by using accidental magic against Vernon when I was nine. I froze him in his position for four hours. After that they feared what I would do next if they didn't stop physically harming me." Harry said in a low voice.

Sirius sank onto his knees and carefully hugged Harry, knowing that with that history he would be cautious of physical contact. He had been through it himself with his parents after he had been sorted into Gryffindor.

"It's okay, I understand. Take all the time you need to get to know me. I'll be there for you when you need somebody to talk to. You don't have to, but I can say from my own experience that it helps telling someone." Sirius said seriously.

"Huh? You went through abuse too?" Harry asked still tense in the embrace.

"Yes, but for me it were my own parents who did it. I am from a very dark family. The only close family member I ever liked was my cousin Andromeda. The others followed the stupid pureblood supremacy doctrine. My brother even became a Death Eater. My parents were so proud that he was going to clean the world from the 'mudblood' filth." Sirius spat out the word mudblood. "But obviously he soon got cold feet after seeing what the Death Eaters really did and wanted out. Sadly you didn't just tell Voldemort 'I quit'. It was life-time service or death. Shocked my parents massively when their precious perfect son died by the hand of Voldemort or more probably one of his minions. I don't think Regulus was important enough to be killed by Voldemort in person.

"Well, I was the only one not following the family doctrine. I was sorted into Gryffindor when I started Hogwarts. The rest of the family was always in Slytherin. Nasty bunch altogether. Two days after the sorting I got a horrible howler about staining the family honour and if I knew what was good for me I would have a resorting. She really managed to get the resorting done, but the hat refused to resort me, stating he didn't make a mistake. After that life at home for me was horrible. I was seen as a bloodtraitor. They only saw Regulus as their son from then on; I was the unwanted house guest. And my parents showed me exactly what they thought of me. There are some curses you never should use, the least on your own child. I'm pretty sure they used all of them on me.

"From then on I always stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays, the only time I went 'home' was over the summer and if it got too much for me, I used the floo to go to James' home. Sadly there is nothing you can do against your own parents while you are a minor in the wizarding world, especially if they are as wealthy as my parents were. I couldn't just tell a teacher and have them take me away from there. No court would have done it. The name 'Black' had too much political power. In the summer before my sixth year I couldn't stand it anymore after my mother had put me under the cruciatus curse repeatedly for refusing to join Voldemort. I packed my school trunk with everything I wanted to take with me and ran away in the middle of the night after picking the lock on my door. Your grandparents took me in. They were great people. Even after I came of age and got my own place with some money my uncle Alphard, who was my godfather, left me, I was always welcome for dinner at Potter Manor." Sirius told Harry.

Harry was surprised. He hadn't thought that in the wizarding world things were even worse than in the muggle world. For him at least he had the security that his parents wouldn't have treated him like the Dursleys did. But for Sirius going through that on the hands of his own parents? He couldn't imagine how he must have felt. But if Sirius went through that he could probably understand him better than others.

"When I was little, the Dursleys always let their anger out on me. The one who became violent was Vernon. Petunia only shouted at me and they all called me a freak. They told me it would have been better for everybody if I had just died with my parents in the car crash that they caused when they were drunk. Halloween was always the worst. Dudley paraded with all the sweets he got in the neighbourhood from trick or treating and rubbed it into my face that I wouldn't get a single sweet. The first time Vernon beat me with his belt that I remember was when I was five. Before all injuries were from him grabbing me too hard and shoving me into the cupboard under the stairs where I slept. He had been denied a promotion at work he had hoped for and got drunk and vented his anger on me. At school things didn't get better except that I was away from Privet Drive most of the time. When it was apparent that I was smarter than Dudley they forced me to not outdo him." Harry didn't know why all those words spilled out of him, but now that he had started he for some reason couldn't stop and he felt strangely safe in Sirius' arms, who was rubbing circles on his back.

"Over the breaks Dudley and his so-called friends always hunted me and, if they got me, beat me up. The library at school became my refuge. The teachers had been told that I was a delinquent by Vernon and Petunia and that I needed to be handled with absolute strictness. In the neighbourhood they gave me the fault for all the things Dudley did. There was after all no way that their precious son could ever do anything wrong." Harry said bitterly.

"When I was eight, I decided that if they punished me anyway for anything I could as well earn it by refusing to do what they wanted. They couldn't beat me too badly; otherwise it would have been noticed. Vernon made sure to only hit where my too big hand-me-downs from Dudley would cover it. So I stopped holding back. Dudley of course wailed at home when the report cards came and told I cheated to be the best in class. I was punished, but I ignored it and kept excelling. I also started playing football. Being on the school team would mean more time away from the Dursleys and I didn't need their permission to be on a school team, only if I had wanted to join a private club. Mr Miller, the physical education teacher that was in charge of the football team, finally noticed that I was neglected. I didn't tell him about the beatings as the marks always disappeared over night. But he saw that I was underweight and too small for my age.

"From then on other teachers also looked closer and at school I was safe. The teachers watched in the canteen and punished Dudley for trying to ruin my food. I spent all my free time in the library or on the football field training. I became so good that I was a set part of the team that participated in matches against other primary schools during the great competitions of our area of England. I had decided that as the police, the muggle law enforcers, didn't take my anonymous letters serious, I needed to get out from the Dursleys on my own. I had heard about scholarships for secondary boarding schools that were given to the best students. So I worked on getting one of them and I succeeded. I was offered five of them and was trying to decide which one to attend to get to the top in society and earn as much money as possible when the Hogwarts letter came. I hoped that magical law enforcement could perhaps help me if the muggles couldn't. So I told Professor McGonagall that I had been beaten and given punishments for no reason by the Dursleys. She took me to St. Mungo's where I got the first medical examination of my life.

"Healer Ickings then did what I had hoped for. Getting me out from being under the Dursley's control. I was really afraid what they would do if they found out I knew about magic." Harry ended the story, shaking in Sirius arms.

He didn't know why he had told him all of that. He had kept it all to himself until now. He hadn't told anybody the whole story. Why did he tell a man he had just met again after ten years?

"Shh, it's okay, Prongslet, let it all out, it helps." Sirius said soothingly rubbing Harry's back while on the inside he was furious.

"Why did they do that to me?" Harry asked and tears spilled from his eyes.

He didn't want to cry. Crying never helped. It never made things better. Only doing things did that.

"Some people are simply like that. I didn't understand my parents' reasons either. You can only try to deal with it. There is nothing that can change the past. The only thing you can influence is the future." Sirius said rubbing circles on Harry's back, while he let the tears he had definitely bottled up for a long time fall.

"I only wanted to be left alone by them. When I realized that they didn't love me and never would, I only wanted to be left alone by them. Why couldn't they just let me be? Why did they have to beat me?" Harry cried.

Sirius realized that inside of this boy who appeared so strong and mature on the outside was still an eleven year old boy who had been forced to stand on his own feet far too early.

"That is over. You'll never have to return there. They will pay for what they did, I'll make sure of it, I promise." Sirius said.

* * *

On the other side of the door of the room Sirius and Harry were in Albus Dumbledore felt ten years older than before. He really had wronged Harry horribly. Hearing Harry tell Sirius all what had happened in his life brought home how much he had failed. He could have prevented that it got so bad. He should have reacted to the reports of Arabella in a different way, but he had been too stubborn to believe that there could be more going on than a certain amount of neglect and a lack of positive attention.

He had come here to talk to both how they wanted to arrange things now, but when he had opened the door a bit he had heard Sirius telling Harry about his home life. And then Harry had talked. Probably for the first time ever. He had known the boy had been beaten, but had not had the whole picture. He hadn't expected how long he had been beaten. And he shouldn't have just believed in Sirius' guilt. He had known him since he was eleven. Sirius had always been against the Dark Arts his family practiced. He should at least have talked to him, given him the chance to defend himself. But in his grief and anger about the loss of Lily and James he never did it.

He waited until he was sure Harry had got himself collected again and knocked on the door.

"Sirius, Harry? I wanted to talk to you about the arrangements for the future. While we will have to wait until the trial of the Dursleys is over in February to have the question of custody for Harry cleared, you have the strongest position, Sirius. Lily and James made you Harry's godfather therefore it's very probable that the court will give you custody if you both agree." Dumbledore said.

"I talked a bit about that with Harry, Professor Dumbledore, and we decided that the best thing would be if I could come to Hogwarts to visit over the Christmas holidays so we can get to know each other better. We will see if we can come to an agreement. I want to finally live up to my name as his godfather, but the final decision is his to make. I won't force him to do anything." Sirius said.

"That will be no problem. I'll arrange for you to get a room in the guest wing for the Christmas break. There is just one thing you should know, Severus Snape is working at Hogwarts as our Potions Professor. If I allow you to come over the holidays, I want you to promise to not act on your childish grudge against each other." Dumbledore demanded.

"If he promises to do the same, I'll promise to treat him neutrally. Don't ask me to like him, I'll never be able to do that. There is too much in our past for that." Sirius agreed.

"I think that will be enough for the moment. I guess you will be at St. Mungo's for the time being?" Dumbledore asked Sirius.

"Yes, I want to get back to normal as soon as I can. Getting over the malnourishment will take some time, but I'll work on it." Sirius said.

"I'll keep in contact and write you, Harry." Sirius promised.

"I'll write you too, Sirius." Harry answered.

Dumbledore led Harry towards the floo in the room and Harry left to Hogwarts. Dumbledore left the room, he needed to take care of some procedures, and Sirius went to get his things and hoped to not be mobbed again by the press.

* * *

**And done. I hope I get the next chapter done quicker than this, but I can't promise anything.**


	12. Rita Skeeter - Star Reporter

**Hi everybody, I have the next chapter ready. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Rita Skeeter – Star Reporter**

Rita Skeeter had her great coup with the article about the trial of Sirius Black. Alone that he got a trial would have made the headlines for a while, but with the way the trial had gone, she had a sensation at her hands. To have Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived and just eleven year old student, having to defend his godfather because no professional barrister at law wanted to take the case and then win with a landslide like he did was without comparison.

She had seen the look Harry Potter had given Waldimor Innireth, when he had shouted that Black would only have lied if interrogated. No, this article would be her finest piece of journalism. The cold, hard facts. She had thankfully had a dicta quill set up and now had a one hundred per cent accurate protocol. She had planned to spice up things later with her quick quotes quill, but she would refrain from it. Harry Potter was dangerous if angered. That much was certain. The boy had a sharp mind and knew how to present facts. If she didn't know he was a Ravenclaw she would have thought that a Slytherin had been presenting the defence. He had built up the defence from the bottom, secured every layer, pointed out where false conclusions had been made and cemented his deductions with statements from important sources like the Minister of Magic himself.

Citing the reports from Fudge and the warden of Azkaban about the Lestranges' placement there was genius. And then the part from the auror manual; he had made Barty Crouch look like an incompetent fool. Having shown that the basic procedure hadn't even been followed and letting Madam Bones do it ten years later was keeping everybody's attention. Often in trials the barristers didn't manage to hold the attention of the members of the Wizengamot. Harry Potter had known how to do this perfectly. Seeing was better than hearing and having to think what things might have looked like. And she had the photos of Bozo, her loyal photographer who knew when to take pictures. So she knew they had the demonstration of the blasting hex against the dummy, Harry Potter holding up the torn robe for all to see, the moment where he pushed up the sleeve of Black with no dark mark on it and the stare down of Innireth.

Then the interview after the trial, the second one he ever gave and she had been the one who got the first one as well. When she had got the letter from Potter with the request to meet him, she had been eager to follow the request. Having an exclusive interview with the Boy-Who-Lived was something no reporter worth their money would pass up upon. She didn't expect to meet a boy who was as well-prepared as he had been. Harry had made her sign a contract that she would only report on his answers truthfully. Otherwise she could forget the interview. When she had asked why she should do it, he had given her that damnable smile. She knew in a few years that smile would be the downfall of dozens of girls. He had told her that the story would be worth it and could make her the most famous reporter in England. She had taken the risk and it had paid off.

In the interview he had brought up the questions he had in regard to his godfather's imprisonment without a trial. He also informed her about the refusal of Minister Fudge to just grant Sirius Black a trial. He asked why the Minister was so afraid of finding out the truth. Were there corpses in his basement that he didn't want to be found? Had he been bribed to keep Sirius locked up? For him, an eleven year old boy it reeked of cover-up. So what if Sirius Black was innocent and still in Azkaban? Were there perhaps others that got thrown to the dementors without a chance to defend themselves? If so, shouldn't the normal witch and wizard be informed what could happen to them in case the Ministry thought they wanted to look good again?

She had loved his style and had written the article. She could proudly say her article was the trigger to get this historical trial on the way. And this one could be her ticket into the ranks of those that were celebrated as star reporters in the world. She, Rita Skeeter, mostly laughed at as a gossip monger. Well, not this time. She had the story of a lifetime with more background information than the others. She would write an award winning article on the trial and she would get the follow up stories on it. The scandal Barty Crouch, the corruption in the Ministry, the abuse of Harry Potter at the hands of the muggles, the whole story, all facts nothing made up, otherwise Potter would skin her alive. That much was for sure.

* * *

Like Rita had prophesied, her article sent the wizarding world into uproar. Her first article had only been the overture to months of sensational stories. People were eager for stories of Harry Potter and his past. And as she never really liked any of the stupid Lockharts that were making so much money for made up stories that even she wouldn't have written; she knew she at least needed a nugget of fact to spin a story of guesses and assumptions around to not be sued. So she happily tore the lies that had been made up by Romanio Lockhart apart and told the real story of Harry Potter, a boy who had to grow up way earlier than any child should. While she didn't get many details on the treatment of Harry, she could find out that there had been physical and emotional abuse included.

She went to Harry's old primary school and got interviews with Mr Miller and Mrs Jannison, the two people Harry had mentioned by their jobs. Those two gave her the image of a boy who had had it very hard but didn't give up and by his own effort went to the top of his class and also became one of the best if not the best football player in his age group. They asked about how Harry was fairing and she could tell them that he had just managed to get his godfather who had been framed for a crime he didn't commit out of prison by asking inconvenient questions and that he would probably get to live with him in the future.

After hearing that the two told her even more stories, being happy that Harry was finally getting some justice and happiness. They told her about their observations, Mr Miller about how he had taken it upon himself to make sure the boy got to an appropriate weight once he had noticed his small frame. Mrs Jannison that Harry had a fierce determination to get what he wanted by working for it. And how much the boy despised bullies. It was good material. Here she could paint a picture that would touch the people of the wizarding world emotionally. And it was all the complete truth. She got pictures from the Dursleys, listened in on conversations they had in their house about the trial and how everything was going down the drain because of the freak.

She questioned the neighbours and got a bulls-eye when she found Arabella Figg, a squib, living in the neighbourhood. While Mrs Figg was reluctant to give her all the information she wanted, she had no problems to tell her exactly what kind of despicable monsters the Dursleys were. The lies they told about Harry, how they neglected the poor boy, how they were obsessed with normalcy while being the worst kind of monsters.

She also looked into the Barty Crouch affair. Her beetle form came in very useful. She landed her next great coup when she found out that Barty Crouch had hidden his supposedly dead Death Eater son at his home for years and faked his death with the help of his wife. She heard the house elf talking to somebody when there was nobody to be seen. The words 'Master Barty' were an indication what was going on and she could confirm it once Barty Senior came home. Her next headline, after she had informed the aurors; of course she had collected the condemning evidence before. Knowing a few tricks of the muggle reporters came in handy. She didn't know that much about muggles, but more than the average witch or wizard. For example that their cameras were easier to hide. So she got a few very good pictures of Barty Crouch Jr in his bed, it had been difficult to manage without the house elf noticing, Barty Crouch Senior using the imperius curse to keep his son under control, some documents that were incriminating and the copies of records of people he sent to Azkaban without trial.

With a little potion used for developing the muggle film, she got the normal moving wizarding pictures and nobody was any the wiser. Yes, another career destroyed. Her name became feared in the ranks of those that had to hide things. And the best thing was that they couldn't even say she had made up the stories that she printed. Because this time she hadn't. Her editor had given her a massive bonus for her stories. The circulation of the Prophet had increased massively and the subscriptions shot up.

* * *

Harry was setting down his copy of the Prophet. Rita Skeeter had really outdone herself. Within the two weeks that had now passed since Sirius' trial she had portrayed the trial in detail, producing an outcry of unknown proportions in the population. To have proof that an innocent man, a man who was a hero, had been sent to Azkaban for ten years without ever having the chance to defend himself was outrageous. Then having no professional barrister being willing to take the case which forced an eleven year old to take a role he was much too young for normally. But who said Harry was normal? Normal didn't fit him. He was special.

The pictures of the important milestones in the article were really good and pulled the reader into the story. Next she had found out all the dirt on the Dursleys. Thankfully there were no details about the abuse besides the verbal abuse and the malnourishment she had found out about. The interviews with Mr Miller and Mrs Jannison had brought a smile on his face. He was happy that they thought so highly of him. Then now the scandal around Barty Crouch Senior sneaking his son out of Azkaban and holding him under the imperius curse for years with a house elf as the son's guard. Both Crouch men were now in Azkaban, one back in his old cell, the other awaiting trial. Harry wondered how Rita got all her facts, but she had been able to prove everything she wrote so far. Interesting what one interview and the promise of the story of the century could achieve. He wondered if she would keep to properly researching her stories.

* * *

Today the other students would return home over the Christmas Holidays. After breakfast the carriages would take them to Hogsmeade Station from where the Hogwarts Express would take them back to London. Harry's end of term results had been very good. Professor Flitwick had been delighted with the results of his first year Ravenclaws. In the half-an-hour meeting Harry had for the month, this time all the meetings had been in the last week of term to discuss the current standing in class and the earned advancements for their rooms mainly, he had been told that he had the highest grades Flitwick had seen in a Ravenclaw student in many years after only one term of school.

Harry had scored 90 % in Potions, 93 % in Defence Against the Dark Arts, 96 % in Astronomy, 99 % in History of Magic, 100 % in Herbology, 105 % in Charms and 107 % in Transfiguration. If he had those scores in his OWL exams he would have got two E's and five O's. Which meant he got five upgrades for his room as he had got a point of the list achieved. Not that Harry hadn't already done that with a few spells already. He had wanted to wait with the essays for Potions and the star chart until he knew better what would be required there. He had had guessed he could get a few O's before Christmas, even if he didn't expect five of them just now. He additionally was in the top five of point winners for his house. Professor Flitwick told him he was immensely proud of his performance so far. Harry smiled. He always liked to hear that somebody was proud of him.

Yesterday evening Harry had played a game of chess with Draco Malfoy in the Great Hall after dinner. The blond and him had a polite conversation about how things had gone for the past term, what goals they had for the coming term and the exams, how Draco would spend his Christmas holidays and so on. Draco had really taken up Harry's advice and put all his effort into his studies while building up a network of mostly Slytherins and Ravenclaws. While he tended to keep to the pureblood students, he treated the halfbloods with normal politeness and the muggleborns indifferently. Meaning while he didn't insult them like he would have done before, he also didn't have more contact than being in the same class with them. But Harry didn't expect anything in that direction anyway. It was more than enough that he didn't bully them.

Draco was the top student of the Slytherin first years with the equivalent of two O's in Potions and History of Magic and high E's in the other five subjects. He was glad he could tell his father those good results and he hoped his father would be proud of him. Harry wondered how any parent couldn't be proud of those grades.

He knew that many wondered why he was acquainted with somebody like Malfoy, who was known to look down on muggleborns, but when he told them he saw potential in Malfoy, they shut up. It was an open secret that Harry Potter knew how to judge people and based his decisions on substantial reasons most of the time. And the pureblood students were very impressed with the network Potter had built up until now. There were only a few first years that didn't like him, mostly those that were jealous. Even if Ron Weasley didn't make a secret of his feelings for the raven haired boy, he didn't dare to cross him again. The dressing down he got after the troll incident had stuck. After one and a half weeks he had finally apologized to Hermione. Things were still a bit frosty towards him in Gryffindor house, but his classmates talked to him again.

Harry Potter had also shown he was powerful and that he was not to be crossed in the Sirius Black trial. Anybody who had the guts to take on the Ministry in their domain, take apart their arguments and win a case that was declared lost by all barristers, who now wanted to kick themselves for not taking the Black case, anybody who had the cunning to catch the Wizengamot in a well-built, multi-layered trap, anybody who worked relentlessly to get all his facts straight and have an ironclad strategy deserved respect in all houses. Harry had got many congratulations for getting his godfather freed. He had to retell the story many times. But he didn't mind that much. It was something he had achieved with his own abilities, nothing that had just happened. And he was willing to take praise for things he deserved to be praised for.

Sirius would arrive the day after tomorrow around lunch. The day before Christmas.

* * *

There were only a dozen or so students staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. The Weasley siblings in Gryffindor, he knew from Penny, who was friends with Percy Weasley, that their parents would visit their second oldest brother Charlie at his work in a dragon preserve in Romania. Then there was Neville, who had looked relieved to not have to return home over the holidays.

Two older Hufflepuffs and three fifth year Ravenclaws were staying and one Slytherin third year. Harry mostly spent his time with Neville, showing him how to play Monopoly. Once the Weasley twins found out that he had a game they didn't know they asked if they could play a game as well. Harry agreed as the twins were decent enough chaps, even if they mostly were only interested in their pranks. They had a fun time. When Sirius arrived on Christmas Eve, he and Snape were called into Dumbledore's office. Obviously Dumbledore didn't want to risk anything with those two. To Harry's big surprise, both men really acted civilly around each other. Sirius later told Harry that he had taken a prank way too far and had endangered Snape's life in the past. He had sincerely apologized to Snape for that and both men had closed a cease fire. They would never get along, but they could try to stay away from each other and that was enough.

The twins invited Harry and Sirius to a big snowball fight, where Ron, Neville and the two Hufflepuffs were also included. I was a great and funny match where in the end everybody was trying to get everybody. Wet, red and happy the fighters returned to the school, Sirius performing a drying charm on all their clothes. Harry led Sirius to his common room and showed him his room. Sirius was impressed with the niceties the room had compared to the Gryffindor boy's dorm. Harry opened the window to let a bit of fresh air in and they sat down on his bed.

"Well, as Ravenclaw stresses learning success, we get rooms with fewer roommates. From third year on we get single rooms. I think that is because many Ravenclaws have strange study habits and to not disturb others we get space to just do our thing when we need to. The rooms we can improve by doing things that are on a list Professor Flitwick gave us at the start of the year. Like learning certain spells, writing potions essays that have to be up to a certain standard and the like. We also got some improvements if we managed to get our grades to the equivalent of O's until Christmas. That's where most of my room improvements came from. I only had two other things from my list done so far as I wanted to wait until first term was over for the essays and the star chart. I don't like not achieving something I set my mind upon." Harry explained.

"So you got some O's after just one term, that's very impressive. I hope you don't forget to have fun though." Sirius said. "While being good at school is important, you can't forget to live in the meantime."

"Don't worry. I'm really good at time management. I had already read all my school books before the term started as I had much time on my hands while I stayed in the Leaky Cauldron. With a bit over a month of time on your hands, it's simply not possible to spend it all in Diagon Alley looking around. So I had much time to read. I also decided to not give up my muggle education. I've found out how to take my tests at the end of the year respectively and how they will be filed with the educational departments. I'm not sure if I want to go to university after school, so I want to at least keep the possibility open." Harry said. "The best part is that thanks to Professor Dumbledore and the important people in this country desperately wanting me to come to Hogwarts they bent over backwards to start up a real 'Muggle Studies' course which takes place every second weekend. We have Maths, English Literature, Science, Politics, History and Economics. I am taking all of them and I am really content with the two teachers we have. I have heard that they have also taken over the former elective Muggle Studies that was offered from third year on and have completely reversed what was taught."

"Yeah, Lily was the same. She didn't want to give up on her muggle education and learned next to her normal wizarding studies. Though she concentrated on three subjects she especially liked to get the workload done. How are you managing it?" Sirius asked.

"I'm well ahead of my age group in my studies. I told you the library was my refuge, so I read what I could get into my hands. As there were only so many books that kept my interest in the primary school library, I took to the public library of Little Whinging. And Mrs Jannison also managed to get me more interesting books once she noticed what kind of books I was reading. And most of the muggle exams are easy and include multiple choice questions. Not all of them, in English Literature, Maths and Politics they normally have you write essays, solve mathematical problems or write summaries to books. But Science was mostly multiple choice or answering easy questions with short answers." Harry explained.

"So, what is your favourite subject?" Sirius asked.

"I think Transfiguration and then Potions, even if Professor Snape is really picky and strict. But I always liked subjects that demanded my full concentration. And my 90 % in Potions are a really good result. I don't think anybody but Draco Malfoy got over 95 % in our year." Harry said.

"That's Narcissa's son." Sirius commented thoughtfully.

"Narcissa?" Harry asked.

"My cousin, how is Draco like?" Sirius asked.

"After I put a few ideas into his head on the train, it's okay. He isn't the most likeable guy, keeps mostly to the pureblood students in his closer circle of acquaintances and friends, but he seems to have realized that with his arrogant attitude he hindered himself more than he achieved things. The thing that started it was him barging into the compartment I shared with Terry, Susan and Hannah and demanded to know if I was really Harry Potter. He offered me to help me with making friends with the right people. While I don't like arrogant ponces, I know better than to make an enemy of somebody whose family is influential. So I shook his hand, but told him that I didn't accept anybody as a closer acquaintance or friend until I knew them better. After all I wouldn't want to risk my own reputation by being connected to somebody who didn't know how to at least keep to a proper code of conduct.

"I took apart his way to approach me, the faux pas he had committed by completely ignoring my companions, two of them girls, which you never do in polite society, and gave him a few hints to do better in the future. I planted the idea of making a name of his own instead of only being known as his father's son in his head. It seems to have worked. He treats halfbloods politely and mostly just ignores the muggleborns. From what I have heard about his father, that is a massive improvement." Harry told Sirius.

"That indeed it is. Wow, to have manipulated a Malfoy like that. Are you sure you shouldn't have been a Slytherin?" Sirius joked.

"Would you be mad if I was?" Harry asked, trying to make it sound lightly, but he really feared what Sirius thought.

"Nah, while I hate all that pureblood supremacy rubbish, I know a few people who are decent people and were in Slytherin. Just because you are ambitious and cunning, you aren't evil. The reason I disliked Slytherin in my youth was my family and how they treated me. I mean your grandmother Dorea, a third cousin of my father and a born Black, was a Slytherin and one of the nicest people I ever met. She was more like a mother to me than my own mother. And my cousin Andromeda was also a Slytherin and she married a muggleborn wizard, Ted Tonks. I tend to look at Slytherins more critically, but I know that it's a person who decides what he or she does in life, not a house. After all, Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor and went traitor. You can't pin it to one house." Sirius said.

Harry was relieved.

"Why did you ask?" Sirius asked.

"Well, because I normally would have been a Slytherin. I just convinced the sorting hat to put me into Ravenclaw. I didn't want to be branded as the next dark lord in training, just because I want to be the best. And I also didn't think I would be that safe in Slytherin with so many children of Death Eaters there." Harry admitted.

"Don't worry. I'd never hate you, Harry. I loved you from the moment I first held you when James named me your godfather. It doesn't matter which house you're in, even if it is easier for me to accept the idea of another house than Gryffindor with Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff as too much bad in my past is connected to the pureblood mania which was started by Salazar Slytherin himself. When you were a baby, James and I were always planning how we would cheer for you when you played in the Gryffindor house team. I don't mind at all that you play in the Ravenclaw team instead or would've played in Slytherin if the hat had put your there. I'm just really proud that you got on the team in your first year. And from what I heard about your first game against Hufflepuff you're a damn good chaser." Sirius said and was surprised when Harry threw himself into his arms.

Nobody had ever told him he loved him. Nobody. Never. He had wanted to hear those words for all his life. Sirius again was confronted with another emotional wound in his godson's heart. Through the open window Hedwig soared inside, having felt the emotional uproar of her wizard. She looked at the sight before her and decided Sirius had everything well under control. She settled down on her perch and just watched.

* * *

On the morning of Christmas Day Harry awoke around eight. He was surprised to see a bunch of Christmas presents at the foot of his bed. It looked like all his classmates and his friendly acquaintances had all given him a little present. He had done the same. For those he wasn't that close to he had got some sweets. For the boys mostly a box with five chocolate frogs and for the girls he got a small box of Honeydukes' finest filled chocolate. For those closer to him, like Rick, Terry, Tony, Lisa, Sylveena, Neville, Hermione, Miranda, Susan and Hannah, he had got a bit more personal presents. He also had sent a bigger box of Honeydukes chocolate to Remus Lupin, having heard that he was a chocoholic from Sirius and he had got Sirius and Hagrid presents. He was busy opening his presents from his acquaintances first, completely awed that he had got so many presents. He never had any proper Christmas presents before.

He got some chocolate frogs, some liquorice wands; some Bertie Bott's every flavour beans, and some self-made biscuits in his collection. The biscuits were really good when he tried one. He looked at the card, the Patil twins had sent them. Just when he was about to open the bigger presents, it knocked at the door.

"Come in." Harry called, assuming that it was probably Sirius. He had said he would come by this morning.

"Hey, Harry. Merry Christmas." Sirius cried happily.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius." Harry replied cheerily.

"I see you already started unpacking your presents. What did you get so far? This looks like a really good haul." Sirius commented.

"Yes. Well until now I only unwrapped the small tokens. You know from people who I'm friendly with, but not close to. I also sent quite a few of those out. Mostly chocolate frogs for the boys and filled chocolate for the girls." Harry answered.

"Nice, it never hurts to be on good terms with people and if a bit of chocolate lets them know you have at least thought of them, all the better." Sirius said. "Come on; let's see what's in the bigger ones."

Sirius seemed as excited as Harry was. Harry nodded and unwrapped the next package. It was a hand-carved wooden flute from Hagrid. Harry tested blowing into it and it sounded like and owl. Remembering an easy Christmas song, he played it on the flute, thinking amused what Hedwig would think about it.

"Nice, I didn't know you could play flute." Sirius said.

"We all had to learn playing flute in music class when I was six. I liked it as it was something nobody minded if I did it well, because they wanted to spare their ears from intentional torture." Harry said. "Sadly I couldn't learn another instrument. That would have required lessons and for those I didn't have the money."

"Do you still want to learn it?" Sirius asked.

"Perhaps later. At the moment with Quidditch and my studies taking so much time, I don't know when I would get it between. Perhaps during the summer. I like music." Harry said.

Sirius nodded. Harry continued to unpack his presents. Hermione had given him a book on famous chasers, Miranda a leather-bound notebook with a fountain pen, Neville a subscription on a potions magazine for a year. From Susan and Hannah he got a combined present of new chaser gloves, Terry and Anthony had also got him a combined present of a broom service kit. Rick had sent an assortment of sweets he knew Harry liked best and Sylveena and Lisa each sent a big box of different homemade biscuits.

Then Harry continued with the biggest presents. He found a three part set of books on the Potter family history from Remus Lupin. He had wanted for some time to find out more about his family so this was a fantastic present. The next one was from Sirius and contained a full set of protective Quidditch gear.

"Thank you, Sirius." Harry said happily.

"You're welcome. I'm glad you like it." Sirius answered.

Now only one present was left. Harry took it and unwrapped it. Inside he found a shimmering piece of cloth.

"I don't believe it, James' invisibility cloak." Sirius exclaimed.

"An invisibility cloak? And it belonged to Dad?" Harry asked shocked.

"Yes. I had wondered where it had gone. Was there a card or something?" Sirius asked.

Harry looked for it. Finally he found it inside the folded cloak.

"Your father left this in my possession. I thought it was about time that it was returned to you, use it well." Harry read out and held the card out to Sirius.

"That's Professor Dumbledore's writing. Curious that James would have lent the cloak to Dumbledore. Especially as he was in hiding." Sirius pondered. "Well, let me tell you, there is as good as nothing in Hogwarts that is out of your reach with this cloak being in your hands. I know we used it quite often to get a midnight snack from the kitchen when we felt like it." Sirius informed Harry.

"Or set up pranks." Harry teased.

"That as well." Sirius confirmed proudly.

"By the way, how did you find the kitchen and how did you get in? I thought that the teachers wouldn't give up that knowledge." Harry asked.

"Ah, what a true marauder is, doesn't know the restriction of rules that are only meant to find ways around them. We wanted to know as much as we could about the castle and so we explored quite a bit. Finding the kitchens was a bit of a coincidence when it happened. We wondered why a still-life type of portrait was hanging in a part of the lower floors, so we tested if there were hidden mechanisms. When Peter sneezed, his hand slipped down the pear, it giggled and tuned into a knob which is the entrance to the kitchen. The house elves were always really helpful. Couldn't be more pleased to give students additional food." Sirius told the story.

"So to get into the kitchen you only have to tickle the pear?" Harry asked.

"Indeed. Why don't you try the cloak on?" Sirius asked.

Harry nodded eagerly and disappeared under the cloak. Only his head was still visible until he pulled the hood up.

"Hey this is great." Harry's voice sounded.

"Indeed it is, but you still are tangible. So be careful where you walk with it. And Mrs Norris can smell you under it, so if you want to stay clear of her, learn a scent erasing charm." Sirius advised.

Harry giggled. He felt a bit cheeky and tackled Sirius invisibly and began tickling him. It resulted in Sirius retaliating and both rolling around on the floor in a tickling match. Harry's cloak had slipped off a bit, taking away his advantage that Sirius couldn't see the most tickling places like his bare feet or his sides.

"I yield!" Harry cried out laughing.

* * *

After Harry had stored his presents in his cupboard, which was one of the improvements on his side of the room, he dressed in comfortable but still presentable clothes and both went down to the Great Hall for Christmas Breakfast.

On their way down to the Great Hall they met Peeves.

"Sirius!" Peeves cried in delight.

"Hey Peeves, still keeping this old castle on its toes?" Sirius greeted back.

"Yessir! Peevesy has kept Filch, the nosy cat, the strict teachers and the students busy, making sure nobody is bored." Peeves answered.

"Good to hear. Any remarkable pranksters coming up?"

"Aye. The Weasley twins are on a good way to follow the legacy of the infamous marauders." Peeves said.

"Great. By the way, don't give my godson here a hard time Peeves, would you?" Sirius asked.

"Ah, Harry, didn't see you behind Sirius. It's ready." Peeves said.

"Really? Great work Peeves. When will you start it?" Harry asked.

"After lunch is over. You said you didn't want to disrupt the feast." Peeves said cackling.

Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Harry, are you collaborating with Peeves for a prank?" Sirius asked.

"Why would you say that?" Harry asked innocently.

"I'm so proud. I thought you didn't like pranking that much." Sirius said delightedly, putting his arm around Harry's shoulders.

"I don't like if it goes too far and if it is too disrupting over the school year. But a well-done prank that makes everybody laugh I like. And as a gag after the Christmas feast, I thought it was okay." Harry answered blushing slightly.

"What did you plan?" Sirius asked.

"Uh, uh!" Harry responded shaking his head. "That would be telling."

"Come on, I'm your godfather, you can tell me." Sirius tried to convince Harry.

"No, it's a surprise." Harry insisted.

No matter what Sirius tried, Harry wouldn't budge. In the end Sirius resigned to waiting after lunch.

* * *

After the breakfast Dumbledore insisted on singing a few Christmas carols. As this time they all sang to the right melody it was pretty nice. Neville and the twins invited Harry over to the Gryffindor common room to play a few games. Harry agreed and Sirius said he would meet him later for lunch. He wanted to catch up with his cousin Andromeda and her husband Ted, who had joined his wife for Christmas at Hogwarts. Normally Andromeda Tonks flooed home after she was done with her classes, but over Christmas with her daughter being stuck at the auror academy this year she and Ted had decided to celebrate at Hogwarts.

Harry had a fun morning in the Gryffindor common room. He found out that Percy already knew how to play 'Wizard' from Penny, so he and Harry explained the game to the other four. In the beginning Ron had grumbled about that a Ravenclaw being in the Gryffindor common room was not right, but his brothers and Neville had soon shut him down. It was Christmas; Harry was okay as long as you didn't cross him or his friends, so he was welcome to visit for a few games and the like. And once the new term started, the password would be changed again anyway, so there was no way it would be a problem.

They had a fun morning and soon the Gryffindor boys liked the game as much as the Ravenclaw students. They had some biscuits that the house elves had placed in all the common rooms for the students that stayed at Hogwarts over the holidays, coaxed Harry into singing again, the twins hit all of them with spells that had their hair change colours every thirty seconds and they had some fun in the beginning guessing the next colour. They then went down for lunch and were greeted by an opulent meal. Fat, roast turkeys, roasted and boiled potatoes, platters of chipolatas, buttered peas, gravy and cranberry sauce and stacks of wizard crackers everywhere.

Inside the crackers were fantastic presents for those that pulled them. Harry got a new wizard chess set and an admiral's hat. In the flaming Christmas puddings that followed the main course Sirius found a silver sickle. Then, when all the children and adults were stuffed, Harry knew it was soon time for the little gag he and Peeves had prepared.

Once everybody was filled to the rim, outside explosions and wheezing were going off. Everybody just started to run outside to see what the noise was about. When they reached the entrance doors, they saw they had been opened wide to have everybody look at the snowy grounds. There in the snow were glowing pictures of embarrassing scenes of each teacher. For each subject there was one thing that had gone wrong in their respective field. The pictures were drawn lines in the snow that were sizzling with sparks in different colours. There was an exploding cauldron with Snape looking surprised, McGonagall having bunny ears, a carrot in her paw and a bushy tail, Flitwick shooting sparks from his ears, Sprout being strangled by the vines of a plant, Tonks having a cloud of letters and numbers swirling around, Sinistra running away from a shooting star, Hagrid being grilled by a small dragon and Dumbledore running after a bag of lemon drops that hopped away.

The students were laughing hard at the scenes and even most of the teachers had to suppress a grin. This was a well-done act and while some scenes might have been embarrassing, it was obvious that it was all in good fun.

Dumbledore chuckled. "Quite a nice idea to end the feast with a bang." He commented.

Harry just grinned and said nothing. This had worked out well. Everybody got a good laugh, but nobody was humiliated or hurt. While Snape seemed to be a bit put off at the idea, he couldn't think it was a prank that targeted him specifically. He had made sure to portrait all the teachers during their classes to have the correct looks on their faces. He had drawn the images later with a special potion he had found in a third year book. While theoretically a third year potion, the process was easy enough. He had given the pictures to Peeves to place them in the grounds. With the poltergeist being able to float over the snow it was impossible to find out who had done it. No footprints, the portraits on paper burned up when the pictures were enlarged by a spell on the papers which he had set for a certain time to go off, and no magical signature to go by. The perfect prank.

* * *

**Okay, another chapter done. Hope you liked it. Till next time.**


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